3 @include gnus-overrides.texi
11 @documentencoding UTF-8
14 Copyright @copyright{} 1995--2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
17 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
18 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
19 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
20 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
21 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
22 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
24 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
25 modify this GNU manual.''
31 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
32 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
33 \usepackage{pagestyle}
36 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
38 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
40 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks,colorlinks=true]{hyperref}
48 % Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
49 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Ma Gnus v0.10}
50 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
51 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
53 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
55 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
56 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
57 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
59 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
64 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
67 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
68 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
69 \newcommand{\gnusasis}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
70 \newcommand{\gnusurl}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
71 \newcommand{\gnuscommand}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
72 \newcommand{\gnusenv}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
73 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
74 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
75 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
76 \newcommand{\gnuskey}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
77 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
78 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
79 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
80 \newcommand{\gnusr}[1]{\textrm{#1}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
83 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
84 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
85 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
86 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
87 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
88 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
89 \newcommand{\gnusacronym}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
90 \newcommand{\gnusemail}[1]{\textit{#1}}
92 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
93 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
94 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
95 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
96 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
97 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
98 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
99 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
100 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
101 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
102 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
103 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
104 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
106 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
107 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
108 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
111 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
113 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
117 \newdimen{\gnusdimen}
120 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
122 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
124 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
125 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
126 \thispagestyle{empty}
128 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
129 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
130 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
135 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
137 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
144 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
145 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
148 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
149 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
152 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
153 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
156 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
157 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
160 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
162 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
163 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
167 \newenvironment{codelist}%
172 \newenvironment{asislist}%
177 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
183 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
188 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
193 \newenvironment{samplist}%
198 \newenvironment{varlist}%
203 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
208 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
209 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
210 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
212 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
217 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
221 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
230 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
232 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
237 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
242 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
246 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
254 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
256 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
266 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
270 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
278 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
280 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
285 \pagenumbering{roman}
286 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
297 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
298 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
300 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
302 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
305 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
308 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
315 \thispagestyle{empty}
323 @dircategory Emacs network features
325 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
334 @title Gnus Manual (DEVELOPMENT VERSION)
336 @ifclear WEBHACKDEVEL
340 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
342 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
350 @top The Gnus Newsreader
354 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
355 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
356 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
359 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
360 This manual corresponds to Ma Gnus v0.10
375 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
376 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
378 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
379 being accused of plagiarism:
381 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
382 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
383 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
384 can even read news with it!
386 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
387 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
388 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
389 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
390 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
393 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
394 This manual corresponds to Ma Gnus v0.10
396 @heading Other related manuals
398 @item Message manual: Composing messages
399 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
400 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
401 @item EasyPG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
402 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
408 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
409 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
410 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
411 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
412 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
413 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
414 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
415 * Searching:: Mail and News search engines.
416 * Various:: General purpose settings.
417 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
418 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
419 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
420 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
421 * Key Index:: Key Index.
423 @c Doesn't work right in html.
424 @c FIXME Do this in a more standard way.
426 Other related manuals
428 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
429 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
430 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
431 * EasyPG:(epa). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
432 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
436 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
440 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
441 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
442 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
443 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
444 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
445 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
446 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
447 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
448 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
449 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
453 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
454 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
455 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
459 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
460 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
461 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
462 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
463 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
464 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
465 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
466 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
467 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
468 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
469 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
470 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
471 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
472 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
473 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
474 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
475 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
476 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
480 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
481 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
482 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
486 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
487 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
488 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
489 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
490 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
494 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
495 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
496 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
497 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
498 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
502 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
503 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
504 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
505 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
506 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
507 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
508 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
509 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
510 * Threading:: How threads are made.
511 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
512 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
513 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
514 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
515 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
516 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
517 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
518 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
519 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
520 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
521 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
522 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
523 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
524 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
525 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
526 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
527 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
528 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
529 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
530 or reselecting the current group.
531 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
532 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
533 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
534 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
536 Summary Buffer Format
538 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
539 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
540 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
541 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
545 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
546 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
548 Reply, Followup and Post
550 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
551 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
552 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
553 * Canceling and Superseding::
557 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
558 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
559 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
560 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
561 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
562 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
566 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
567 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
569 Customizing Threading
571 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
572 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
573 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
574 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
578 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
579 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
580 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
581 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
582 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
583 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
587 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
588 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
589 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
593 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
594 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
595 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
596 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
597 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
598 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
599 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
600 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
601 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
602 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
603 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
605 Alternative Approaches
607 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
608 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
610 Various Summary Stuff
612 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
613 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
614 * Summary Generation Commands::
615 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
619 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
620 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
621 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
622 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
623 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
627 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
628 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
629 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
630 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
631 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
632 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
633 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
634 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
635 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
639 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
640 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
641 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
642 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
643 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
644 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
645 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
646 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
647 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
651 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
652 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
653 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
654 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
655 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
656 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
657 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
661 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
662 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
666 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
667 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
668 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
672 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
673 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
674 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
675 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
676 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
677 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
678 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
679 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
680 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
681 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
682 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
683 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
684 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
688 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
689 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
690 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
692 Choosing a Mail Back End
694 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
695 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
696 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
697 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
698 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
699 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
700 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
705 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
706 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
710 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
711 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
712 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
713 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
714 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
718 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
722 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
726 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
727 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
728 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
732 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
733 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
734 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
736 The Gnus Diary Library
738 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
739 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
740 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
741 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
745 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
746 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
747 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
748 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
749 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
750 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
751 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
752 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
753 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
754 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
755 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
756 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
757 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
758 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
762 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
763 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
764 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
768 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
769 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
770 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
774 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
775 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
776 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
777 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
778 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
779 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
780 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
781 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
782 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
783 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
784 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
785 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
786 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
787 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
788 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
789 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
793 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
794 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
795 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
799 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
800 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
804 * What is nnir?:: What does nnir do.
805 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
806 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up nnir.
810 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
814 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
815 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
816 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
817 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
818 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
819 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
820 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
821 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
822 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
823 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
824 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
825 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
826 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
827 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
828 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
829 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
830 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
831 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
832 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
836 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
837 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
838 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
839 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
840 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
841 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
842 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
843 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
847 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
848 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
849 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
851 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
852 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
853 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
857 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
858 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
859 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
860 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
864 * Spam Package Introduction::
865 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
866 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
867 * Spam and Ham Processors::
868 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
870 * Extending the Spam package::
871 * Spam Statistics Package::
873 Spam Statistics Package
875 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
876 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
877 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
881 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
882 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
883 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
884 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
885 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
886 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
887 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
888 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
889 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
893 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
894 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
895 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
896 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
897 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
898 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
899 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
900 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
904 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
905 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
906 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
907 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
908 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
909 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
910 * No Gnus:: Very punny. Gnus 5.12/5.13
911 * Ma Gnus:: Celebrating 25 years of Gnus.
915 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
916 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
917 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
918 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
922 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
923 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
924 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
925 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
926 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
927 * Group Info:: The group info format.
928 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
929 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
930 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
934 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
935 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
936 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
937 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
938 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
939 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
943 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
944 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
948 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
949 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
955 @chapter Starting Gnus
958 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
963 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
964 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
965 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
966 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
967 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
968 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
970 @findex gnus-other-frame
971 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
972 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
973 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
975 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
976 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
977 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
979 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
980 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
983 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
984 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
985 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
986 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
987 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
988 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
989 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
990 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
991 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
995 @node Finding the News
996 @section Finding the News
999 First of all, you should know that there is a special buffer called
1000 @code{*Server*} that lists all the servers Gnus knows about. You can
1001 press @kbd{^} from the Group buffer to see it. In the Server buffer,
1002 you can press @kbd{RET} on a defined server to see all the groups it
1003 serves (subscribed or not!). You can also add or delete servers, edit
1004 a foreign server's definition, agentize or de-agentize a server, and
1005 do many other neat things. @xref{Server Buffer}.
1006 @xref{Foreign Groups}. @xref{Agent Basics}.
1008 @vindex gnus-select-method
1010 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1011 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1012 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1013 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1014 secondary or foreign groups.
1016 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1017 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1020 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1023 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1026 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1029 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1030 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1031 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1032 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1034 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1036 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1037 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1038 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1039 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1040 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1041 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1042 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1044 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1046 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1047 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1048 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1049 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1050 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1051 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1053 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1055 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1056 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1057 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1058 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1059 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1060 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1063 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1064 you would typically set this variable to
1067 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1072 @node The Server is Down
1073 @section The Server is Down
1074 @cindex server errors
1076 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1077 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1078 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1080 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1081 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1082 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1083 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1084 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1085 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1086 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1088 @findex gnus-no-server
1089 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1091 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1092 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1093 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1094 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1095 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1096 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1097 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1101 @section Slave Gnusae
1104 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1105 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1106 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1107 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1109 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1110 @file{.newsrc} file.
1112 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1113 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1114 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1115 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1116 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1117 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1118 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1121 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1122 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1123 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1124 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1125 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1126 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1127 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1128 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1130 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1131 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1133 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1134 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1135 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1136 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1137 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1144 @cindex subscription
1146 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1147 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1148 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1149 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1150 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1151 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1152 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1153 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1154 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1157 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1158 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1159 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1163 @node Checking New Groups
1164 @subsection Checking New Groups
1166 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing
1167 the list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of
1168 subscribed and dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method.
1169 If @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will
1170 ask the server for new groups since the last time. This is both
1171 faster and cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list
1172 of killed groups (@pxref{Group Levels}) altogether, so you may set
1173 @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to @code{nil}, which will save time both
1174 at startup, at exit, and all over. Saves disk space, too. Why isn't
1175 this the default, then? Unfortunately, not all servers support this
1178 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1179 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1180 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1181 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1182 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1183 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1184 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1185 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1186 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1187 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1188 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1190 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1191 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1192 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1193 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1194 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1195 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1198 @node Subscription Methods
1199 @subsection Subscription Methods
1201 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1202 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1203 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1205 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1206 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1208 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1212 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1213 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1214 Make all new groups zombies (@pxref{Group Levels}). This is the
1215 default. You can browse the zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either
1216 kill them all off properly (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them
1219 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1220 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1221 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1222 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1224 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1225 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1226 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1230 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1231 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1232 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1233 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1234 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1235 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1236 up. Or something like that.
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1240 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1241 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1242 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1244 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1245 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1246 Kill all new groups.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1250 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1251 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1252 topic parameter that looks like
1258 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1261 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1266 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1267 A closely related variable is
1268 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1269 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1270 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1271 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1274 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1275 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1276 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1277 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1280 @node Filtering New Groups
1281 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1283 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1284 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1285 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1288 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1291 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1292 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1293 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1294 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1295 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1296 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1297 subscribing these groups.
1298 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1299 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1301 The ``options -n'' format is very simplistic. The syntax above is all
1302 that is supports: you can force-subscribe hierarchies, or you can
1303 deny hierarchies, and that's it.
1305 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1306 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1307 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1308 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1309 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1310 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1311 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1312 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1314 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1315 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1316 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1317 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1318 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1319 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1320 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1321 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1322 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, @code{nnimap}, and
1323 @code{nnmaildir}) subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this
1324 variable to @code{nil}.
1326 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-categories
1327 As if that wasn't enough, @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-categories} also
1328 allows you to specify that new groups should be subscribed based on the
1329 category their select methods belong to. The default is @samp{(mail
1330 post-mail)}, meaning that all new groups from mail-like backends
1331 should be subscribed automatically.
1333 New groups that match these variables are subscribed using
1334 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1337 @node Changing Servers
1338 @section Changing Servers
1339 @cindex changing servers
1341 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1342 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1343 very flaky and you want to use another.
1345 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1346 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1350 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1351 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1352 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1353 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1356 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1357 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1358 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1359 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1362 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1363 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1364 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1365 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1367 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1368 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1369 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1370 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1371 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1372 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1373 cache for all groups).
1377 @section Startup Files
1378 @cindex startup files
1383 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1384 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1385 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1388 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1389 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1390 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1391 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1392 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1393 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1394 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1396 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1397 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1398 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1399 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1400 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1401 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1403 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1404 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1405 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1406 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1407 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1408 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1409 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1410 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1411 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1412 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1413 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1416 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1417 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1418 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1419 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1420 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1421 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1422 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1423 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1424 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1425 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1426 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1427 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1429 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1430 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1431 @vindex version-control
1432 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1433 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1434 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1435 If you want to keep multiple numbered backups of this file, set
1436 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1437 @code{version-control} variable.
1439 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1440 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1441 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1442 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1443 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1444 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1445 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1446 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1447 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1448 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1451 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1452 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1454 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1455 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1458 @vindex gnus-init-file
1459 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1460 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1461 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1462 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1463 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1464 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1465 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1466 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1467 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1468 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1469 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1470 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1471 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1476 @cindex dribble file
1479 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1480 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1481 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1482 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1483 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1486 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1487 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1490 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1491 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1492 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1494 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1495 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1496 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1497 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1498 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1499 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1501 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1502 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1503 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1506 @node The Active File
1507 @section The Active File
1509 @cindex ignored groups
1511 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1512 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1513 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1515 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1516 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1517 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1518 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1519 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1520 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1521 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1524 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1525 @c if you set it to anything else.
1527 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1529 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1530 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1531 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1533 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1534 you actually subscribe to.
1536 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1537 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1538 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1539 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1541 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1542 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1543 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1544 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1545 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1546 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1548 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1549 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1550 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1553 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1554 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1555 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1556 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1557 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1558 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1560 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1561 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1563 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1564 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1566 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1567 secondary select methods.
1570 @node Startup Variables
1571 @section Startup Variables
1575 @item gnus-load-hook
1576 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1577 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1578 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1579 times you start Gnus.
1581 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1582 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1583 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1585 @item gnus-before-resume-hook
1586 @vindex gnus-before-resume-hook
1587 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is resumed after a suspend.
1589 @item gnus-startup-hook
1590 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1591 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1593 @item gnus-started-hook
1594 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1595 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1598 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1599 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1600 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1601 generating the group buffer.
1603 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1604 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1605 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1606 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1607 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1608 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1609 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1610 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1612 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1613 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1614 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1615 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1616 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1617 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1619 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1620 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1621 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1623 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1624 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1625 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1626 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1627 group operation some.
1633 @chapter Group Buffer
1634 @cindex group buffer
1636 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1638 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1639 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1640 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1641 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1642 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1643 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1644 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1645 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1646 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1647 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1648 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1649 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1650 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1651 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1652 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1653 @c human rights at 9...
1656 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1657 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1658 long as Gnus is active.
1662 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1663 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1664 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1665 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1666 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1667 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1668 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1669 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1675 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1676 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1677 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1678 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1679 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1680 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1681 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1682 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1683 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1684 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1685 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1686 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1687 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1688 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1689 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1690 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1691 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1692 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1696 @node Group Buffer Format
1697 @section Group Buffer Format
1700 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1701 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1702 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1705 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1706 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1709 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1710 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1711 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1712 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1715 @node Group Line Specification
1716 @subsection Group Line Specification
1717 @cindex group buffer format
1719 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1720 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1722 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1725 25: news.announce.newusers
1726 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1731 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1732 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1733 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1734 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1736 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1737 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1738 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1739 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1740 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C@.
1741 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1743 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1745 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1746 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1747 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1748 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1749 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1751 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1752 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1753 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1755 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1760 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1763 Whether the group is subscribed.
1766 Level of subscribedness.
1769 Number of unread articles.
1772 Number of dormant articles.
1775 Number of ticked articles.
1778 Number of read articles.
1781 Number of unseen articles.
1784 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1785 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1787 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1788 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1789 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1790 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1791 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1792 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1793 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1795 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1796 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1797 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1798 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1799 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1800 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1801 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1804 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1807 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1816 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1817 comment element in the group parameters.
1820 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1821 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1822 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1826 @samp{m} if moderated.
1829 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1835 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1841 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1845 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1848 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1849 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1850 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1851 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1852 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1855 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1857 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1861 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1864 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1868 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1869 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1870 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1871 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1874 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1875 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1876 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1877 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1878 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1879 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1884 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1885 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1886 group, or a bogus native group.
1889 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1890 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1891 @cindex group mode line
1893 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1894 The mode line can be changed by setting
1895 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1896 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1900 The native news server.
1902 The native select method.
1906 @node Group Highlighting
1907 @subsection Group Highlighting
1908 @cindex highlighting
1909 @cindex group highlighting
1911 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1912 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1913 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1914 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1915 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1917 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1921 (cond (window-system
1922 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1923 (defface my-group-face-1
1924 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1925 (defface my-group-face-2
1926 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1927 "Second group face")
1928 (defface my-group-face-3
1929 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1930 (defface my-group-face-4
1931 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1932 (defface my-group-face-5
1933 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1935 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1936 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1937 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1938 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1939 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1940 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1943 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1945 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1952 The number of unread articles in the group.
1956 Whether the group is a mail group.
1958 The level of the group.
1960 The score of the group.
1962 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1964 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1965 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1967 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1968 topic being inserted.
1971 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1972 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1973 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1975 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1976 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1977 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1978 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1981 @node Group Maneuvering
1982 @section Group Maneuvering
1983 @cindex group movement
1985 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1986 expected, hopefully.
1992 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1993 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1994 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2000 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2001 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2002 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2006 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2007 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2011 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2012 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2016 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2017 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2018 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2022 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2023 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2024 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2027 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2033 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2034 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2035 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2040 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2041 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2042 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2047 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2048 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2051 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2052 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2053 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2054 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2057 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2058 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2059 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2060 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2063 @node Selecting a Group
2064 @section Selecting a Group
2065 @cindex group selection
2070 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2071 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2072 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2073 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2074 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2075 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2076 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2077 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2078 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2079 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2081 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2082 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2083 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2085 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2086 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2091 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2092 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2093 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2094 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2095 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2099 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2100 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2101 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2102 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2103 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2104 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2105 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2106 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2107 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2108 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2111 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2112 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2113 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2114 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2115 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2118 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2119 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2120 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2121 doing any processing of its contents
2122 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2123 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2124 manner will have no permanent effects.
2128 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2129 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2130 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2131 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2132 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2133 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2134 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2135 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2136 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2137 most recently will be fetched.
2139 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2140 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2141 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2144 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2145 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2146 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2147 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2148 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2149 are actually only the articles 1--10 and 29999900--30000000, Gnus doesn't
2150 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2151 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2152 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2153 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2154 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2155 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2156 get only the articles 29990001--30000000 (if the latest article number is
2157 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2158 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2159 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2160 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2162 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2163 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2164 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2165 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2166 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2167 Which article this is controlled by the
2168 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2174 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2177 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2180 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2182 @item unseen-or-unread
2183 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2184 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2188 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2192 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2193 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2195 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2196 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2197 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2198 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2202 @node Subscription Commands
2203 @section Subscription Commands
2204 @cindex subscription
2206 The following commands allow for managing your subscriptions in the
2207 Group buffer. If you want to subscribe to many groups, it's probably
2208 more convenient to go to the @ref{Server Buffer}, and choose the
2209 server there using @kbd{RET} or @kbd{SPC}. Then you'll have the
2210 commands listed in @ref{Browse Foreign Server} at hand.
2218 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2219 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2220 Toggle subscription to the current group
2221 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2227 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2228 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2229 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2230 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2236 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2237 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2238 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2244 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2245 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2248 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2249 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2250 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2251 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2252 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2258 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2259 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2263 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2264 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2267 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2268 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2269 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2270 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2271 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2272 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2273 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2274 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2275 @file{.newsrc} file.
2279 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2289 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2290 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2291 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2292 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2293 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2294 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2299 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2300 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2301 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2305 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2306 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2307 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2309 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2310 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2311 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2312 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2313 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2314 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2321 @section Group Levels
2325 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2326 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2327 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2328 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2329 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2331 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2337 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2338 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2339 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2340 prompted for a level.
2343 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2344 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2345 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2346 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2347 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2348 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2349 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2350 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2351 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2352 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2353 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2354 same, but zombie and killed groups store no information on what articles
2355 you have read, etc. This distinction between dead and living
2356 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2357 reasons of efficiency.
2359 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2360 low levels (e.g., 1 or 2).
2362 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2363 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2364 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2365 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2366 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2367 groups are hidden, in a way.
2369 @cindex zombie groups
2370 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2371 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2372 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2373 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2374 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2375 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2377 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2378 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2379 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2380 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2381 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2382 list of killed groups.)
2384 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2385 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2386 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2388 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2389 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2390 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2391 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2392 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2393 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2394 relevant valid ranges.
2396 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2397 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2398 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2399 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2400 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2401 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2404 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2405 one with the best level.
2407 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2408 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2409 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2411 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2412 be called and the result will be used as value.
2415 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2416 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2417 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2418 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2421 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2422 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2423 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2424 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2426 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2427 Gnus will normally just activate (i.e., query the server about) groups
2428 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2429 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2430 to 5. The default is 6.
2434 @section Group Score
2439 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2440 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2441 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2444 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2445 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2446 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2447 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2448 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2449 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2450 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2451 least significant part.))
2453 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2454 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2455 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2456 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2457 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2458 action after each summary exit, you can add
2459 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2460 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2461 slow things down somewhat.
2464 @node Marking Groups
2465 @section Marking Groups
2466 @cindex marking groups
2468 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2469 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2470 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2471 bidding on those groups.
2473 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2474 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2475 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2483 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2484 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2491 Remove the mark from the current group
2492 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2497 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2502 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2506 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2507 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2511 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2512 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2513 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2516 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2518 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2519 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2520 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2521 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2522 the command to be executed.
2525 @node Foreign Groups
2526 @section Foreign Groups
2527 @cindex foreign groups
2529 If you recall how to subscribe to servers (@pxref{Finding the News})
2530 you will remember that @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} and
2531 @code{gnus-select-method} let you write a definition in Emacs Lisp of
2532 what servers you want to see when you start up. The alternate
2533 approach is to use foreign servers and groups. ``Foreign'' here means
2534 they are not coming from the select methods. All foreign server
2535 configuration and subscriptions are stored only in the
2536 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file.
2538 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2539 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2540 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2541 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2544 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2545 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2546 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2552 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2553 @cindex making groups
2554 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2555 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2556 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2560 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2561 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2562 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2566 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2567 @cindex renaming groups
2568 Rename the current group to something else
2569 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2570 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2576 @findex gnus-group-customize
2577 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2581 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2582 @cindex renaming groups
2583 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2584 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2588 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2589 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2590 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2594 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2595 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2596 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2600 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2602 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2603 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2608 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2609 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2613 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2615 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2616 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2617 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2621 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2622 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2624 Make a group based on some file or other
2625 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2626 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2627 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2628 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2629 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2630 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2631 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2632 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2633 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2637 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2638 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2639 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2640 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2644 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2648 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2649 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2650 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2651 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2652 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2653 @xref{Web Searches}.
2655 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2656 to a particular group by using a match string like
2657 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2661 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2662 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2663 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL@.
2667 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2668 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2669 This function will delete the current group
2670 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2671 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2672 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2673 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2674 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2678 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2679 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2680 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2684 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2685 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2686 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2689 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2692 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2693 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2694 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2695 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2696 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2697 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2701 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2702 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2705 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2706 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2707 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2708 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2709 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2710 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2713 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2714 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2715 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2716 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2717 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include:
2718 @indicateurl{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2719 @indicateurl{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2720 @indicateurl{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2721 @indicateurl{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2722 @indicateurl{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2724 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2725 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2726 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2727 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2728 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2730 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2731 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2732 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2733 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2736 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2744 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2745 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2746 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2750 @node Group Parameters
2751 @section Group Parameters
2752 @cindex group parameters
2754 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2756 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2757 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2758 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2759 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2760 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2761 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2762 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2764 Here's an example group parameter list:
2767 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2771 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2772 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2773 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2774 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2776 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2777 is an alist of regexps and values.
2779 The following group parameters can be used:
2784 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2787 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2790 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2791 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2792 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2793 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2794 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2796 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2797 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2798 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2799 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2800 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2801 list address instead.
2803 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2807 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2810 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2813 It is totally ignored
2814 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2815 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2817 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2818 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2819 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2820 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2821 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2823 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2824 @cindex mail list groups
2825 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2826 entering summary buffer.
2828 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2833 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2834 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2835 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2836 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2837 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2838 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2839 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2840 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2843 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2844 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2847 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2848 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2852 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2853 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2854 of whether it has any unread articles.
2856 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2857 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2859 @item broken-reply-to
2860 @cindex broken-reply-to
2861 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2862 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2863 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2864 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2865 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2866 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2870 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2871 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2875 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2876 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2877 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2882 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2883 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2884 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2885 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2886 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2887 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2888 (@pxref{Archived Messages}), with the exception for messages to resend.
2890 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2891 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2892 doesn't accept articles.
2896 @cindex expiring mail
2897 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2898 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2899 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2901 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2904 @cindex total-expire
2905 @cindex expiring mail
2906 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2907 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2908 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2909 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2912 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2916 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2917 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2918 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2919 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2920 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2921 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2922 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2925 @cindex expiry-target
2926 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2927 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2930 @cindex score file group parameter
2931 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2932 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2933 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2936 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2937 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2938 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2939 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2942 @cindex admin-address
2943 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2944 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2945 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2946 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2950 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2951 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2955 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2958 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2959 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2962 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2966 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2968 Here are some examples:
2972 Display only unread articles.
2975 Display everything except expirable articles.
2977 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2978 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2982 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2983 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2984 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2985 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2986 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, and @code{unseen}.
2990 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2991 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2992 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2996 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2997 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2998 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
3002 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
3003 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
3004 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
3006 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
3008 @item ignored-charsets
3009 @cindex ignored-charset
3010 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3011 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3012 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3014 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3017 @cindex posting-style
3018 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3019 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3020 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3021 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3022 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3024 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3025 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3026 like this in the group parameters:
3031 ("X-Message-SMTP-Method" "smtp smtp.example.org 587")
3032 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3033 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3036 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3037 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3038 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3039 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3040 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3041 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3047 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3048 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3052 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3053 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3054 mail source for this group.
3058 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3059 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3060 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3061 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3062 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3066 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3067 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3068 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3069 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3071 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3072 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3073 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3074 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3077 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3078 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3082 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3083 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3084 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3085 like the following is generated:
3088 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3089 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3093 You can also use regexp expansions in the rules:
3096 (sieve header :regex "list-id" "<c++std-\\1.accu.org>")
3099 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3100 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3102 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3103 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3105 @item (agent parameters)
3106 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of its parameters to
3107 control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3108 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3109 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3110 minimize the configuration effort.
3112 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3113 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3114 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3115 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3116 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3117 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3118 @code{eval}ed there.
3120 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3121 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3122 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3123 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3124 form needs to be set to it.
3126 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3127 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3128 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3129 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3130 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3131 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3132 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3135 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3138 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3139 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3140 the subject fields of articles. E.g., if the news group
3143 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3146 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3147 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3148 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3149 into the group parameters for the group.
3151 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3152 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3153 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3154 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3155 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3157 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3158 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3159 following is added to a group parameter
3162 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3163 (lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3166 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3171 @vindex gnus-parameters
3172 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3173 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3174 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3178 (setq gnus-parameters
3180 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3181 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3182 (gnus-summary-line-format
3183 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3187 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3191 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3195 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3198 All clauses that matches the group name will be used, but the last
3199 setting ``wins''. So if you have two clauses that both match the
3200 group name, and both set, say @code{display}, the last setting will
3203 Parameters that are strings will be subjected to regexp substitution,
3204 as the @code{to-group} example shows.
3206 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3207 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3208 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3209 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3210 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3211 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3212 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3213 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3214 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3215 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3216 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3217 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3219 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3220 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3221 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3222 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3223 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3224 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3225 weekly news RSS feed
3226 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3232 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3233 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3234 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3235 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3236 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3238 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3239 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3240 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3241 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3242 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3243 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3247 @node Listing Groups
3248 @section Listing Groups
3249 @cindex group listing
3251 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3259 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3260 List all groups that have unread articles
3261 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3262 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3263 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3264 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3271 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3272 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3273 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3274 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3275 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3276 unsubscribed groups).
3280 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3281 List all unread groups on a specific level
3282 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3283 with no unread articles.
3287 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3288 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3289 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3290 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3295 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3296 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3300 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3301 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3302 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3306 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3307 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3311 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3312 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3313 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3314 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3315 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3316 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3317 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3318 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3322 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3323 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3324 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3328 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3329 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3330 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3334 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3335 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3339 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3340 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3344 @findex gnus-group-list-ticked
3345 List all groups with ticked articles (@code{gnus-group-list-ticked}).
3349 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3350 Further limit groups within the current selection
3351 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}). If you've first limited to groups
3352 with dormant articles with @kbd{A ?}, you can then further limit with
3353 @kbd{A / c}, which will then limit to groups with cached articles,
3354 giving you the groups that have both dormant articles and cached
3359 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3360 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3364 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3365 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3369 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3370 @cindex visible group parameter
3371 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3372 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3373 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3374 get the same effect.
3376 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3377 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3378 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3379 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3380 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3383 @node Sorting Groups
3384 @section Sorting Groups
3385 @cindex sorting groups
3387 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3388 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3389 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3390 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3391 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3392 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3397 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3398 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3399 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3401 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3403 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3405 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3406 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3407 Sort by group level.
3409 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3410 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3411 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3413 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3414 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3415 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3416 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3418 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3419 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3420 Sort by number of unread articles.
3422 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3423 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3424 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3426 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3427 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3428 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3433 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3434 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3438 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3439 some sorting criteria:
3443 @kindex G S a (Group)
3444 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3445 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3446 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3449 @kindex G S u (Group)
3450 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3451 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3452 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3455 @kindex G S l (Group)
3456 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3457 Sort the group buffer by group level
3458 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3461 @kindex G S v (Group)
3462 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3463 Sort the group buffer by group score
3464 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3467 @kindex G S r (Group)
3468 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3469 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3470 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3473 @kindex G S m (Group)
3474 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3475 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3476 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3479 @kindex G S n (Group)
3480 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3481 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3482 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3486 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3487 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3489 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3490 commands will sort in reverse order.
3492 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3496 @kindex G P a (Group)
3497 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3498 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3499 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3502 @kindex G P u (Group)
3503 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3504 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3505 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3508 @kindex G P l (Group)
3509 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3510 Sort the groups by group level
3511 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3514 @kindex G P v (Group)
3515 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3516 Sort the groups by group score
3517 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3520 @kindex G P r (Group)
3521 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3522 Sort the groups by group rank
3523 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3526 @kindex G P m (Group)
3527 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3528 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3529 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3532 @kindex G P n (Group)
3533 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3534 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3535 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3538 @kindex G P s (Group)
3539 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3540 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3544 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3548 @node Group Maintenance
3549 @section Group Maintenance
3550 @cindex bogus groups
3555 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3556 Find bogus groups and delete them
3557 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3561 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3562 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3563 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3564 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3565 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3569 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3570 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3571 @cindex expiring mail
3572 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3573 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3574 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3575 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3578 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3579 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3580 @cindex expiring mail
3581 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3582 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3587 @node Browse Foreign Server
3588 @section Browse Foreign Server
3589 @cindex foreign servers
3590 @cindex browsing servers
3595 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3596 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3597 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3598 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3601 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3602 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3603 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3604 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3606 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3611 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3612 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3616 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3617 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3620 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3621 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3622 Enter the current group and display the first article
3623 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3626 @kindex RET (Browse)
3627 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3628 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3632 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3633 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3634 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3635 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3636 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3637 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3638 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3644 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3645 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3649 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3650 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3654 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3655 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3656 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3659 @kindex DEL (Browse)
3660 @findex gnus-browse-delete-group
3661 This function will delete the current group
3662 (@code{gnus-browse-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function
3663 will actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly
3664 remove the group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only
3665 if you are absolutely sure of what you are doing.
3670 @section Exiting Gnus
3671 @cindex exiting Gnus
3673 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3678 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3679 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3680 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3681 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3685 @findex gnus-group-exit
3686 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3687 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3691 @findex gnus-group-quit
3692 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3693 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3696 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3697 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3698 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3699 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3700 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3701 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3707 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3708 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3709 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3715 @section Group Topics
3718 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3719 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3720 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3721 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3722 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3723 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3727 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3728 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3739 2: alt.religion.emacs
3742 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3744 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3745 13: comp.sources.unix
3748 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3750 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3751 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3752 is a toggling command.)
3754 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3755 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3756 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3757 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3760 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3761 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3762 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3765 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3769 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3770 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3771 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3772 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3773 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3777 @node Topic Commands
3778 @subsection Topic Commands
3779 @cindex topic commands
3781 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3782 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3783 definitions slightly.
3785 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3786 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3787 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3788 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3789 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3790 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3792 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3799 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3800 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3801 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3805 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3807 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3808 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3809 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3810 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3813 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3814 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3815 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3816 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3820 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3821 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3822 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3823 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3829 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3830 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3831 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3835 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3836 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3837 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3840 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3841 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3842 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3843 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3844 paste. Like I said---E-Z.
3846 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3847 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3851 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3852 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3859 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3861 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3862 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3863 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3864 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3865 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3866 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3870 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3876 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3877 Move the current group to some other topic
3878 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3879 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3883 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3884 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3888 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3889 Copy the current group to some other topic
3890 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3891 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3895 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3896 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3897 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3901 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3902 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3903 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3907 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3908 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3909 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3910 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3911 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3912 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3913 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3916 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3917 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3921 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3922 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3923 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3927 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3928 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3929 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3933 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3934 Toggle hiding empty topics
3935 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3939 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3940 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3941 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3942 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3945 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3946 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3947 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3948 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3949 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3952 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3953 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3954 @cindex expiring mail
3955 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3956 expiry process (if any)
3957 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3961 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3962 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3965 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3966 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3967 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3971 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3972 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3973 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3976 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3977 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3978 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3981 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3982 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3983 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3987 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3988 @cindex group parameters
3989 @cindex topic parameters
3991 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3992 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3997 @node Topic Variables
3998 @subsection Topic Variables
3999 @cindex topic variables
4001 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
4002 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
4004 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
4005 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
4006 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4019 Number of groups in the topic.
4021 Number of unread articles in the topic.
4023 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
4026 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
4027 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
4028 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
4031 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
4032 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
4034 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
4035 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
4036 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
4040 @subsection Topic Sorting
4041 @cindex topic sorting
4043 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4049 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4050 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4051 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4052 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4055 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4056 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4057 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4058 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4061 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4062 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4063 Sort the current topic by group level
4064 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4067 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4068 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4069 Sort the current topic by group score
4070 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4073 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4074 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4075 Sort the current topic by group rank
4076 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4079 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4080 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4081 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4082 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4085 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4086 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4087 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4088 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4091 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4092 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4093 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4094 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4095 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4099 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4100 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4104 @node Topic Topology
4105 @subsection Topic Topology
4106 @cindex topic topology
4109 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4116 2: alt.religion.emacs
4119 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4121 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4122 13: comp.sources.unix
4126 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4127 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4128 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4133 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4134 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4138 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4139 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4140 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4141 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4142 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4143 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4145 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4146 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4147 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4150 @node Topic Parameters
4151 @subsection Topic Parameters
4152 @cindex topic parameters
4154 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4155 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4156 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4157 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4158 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4160 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4165 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4166 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4167 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4170 @item subscribe-level
4171 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4172 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4173 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4177 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4178 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4179 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4180 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4187 2: alt.religion.emacs
4191 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4193 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4194 13: comp.sources.unix
4199 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4200 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4201 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4202 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4203 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4204 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4206 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4207 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4208 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4209 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4210 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4212 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4213 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4214 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4215 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4216 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4217 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4218 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4219 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4222 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4223 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4224 @cindex non-ascii group names
4226 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4227 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4228 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4229 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4230 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4231 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4232 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4235 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4236 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4237 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4238 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4239 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4240 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4241 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4242 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4245 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4246 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4247 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4248 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4249 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4252 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4253 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4256 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4257 ones specified for the same groups with the
4258 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4260 A select method can be very long, like:
4264 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4265 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4266 (nntp-open-connection-function
4267 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4268 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4269 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4270 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4271 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4274 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4275 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4278 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4279 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4280 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4281 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4282 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4283 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4286 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4287 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4291 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4292 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4295 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4296 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4297 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4298 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4299 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4300 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4302 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4306 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4307 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4308 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4309 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4310 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4311 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4313 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the agent, and
4314 the cache use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and
4315 directories. This variable overrides the value of
4316 @code{file-name-coding-system} which specifies the coding system used
4317 when encoding and decoding those file names and directory names.
4319 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4320 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4321 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4322 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4323 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4324 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4326 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4327 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4328 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4329 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4331 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4332 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4333 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4334 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4336 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4337 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4338 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4339 typical case where you have to customize
4340 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4341 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4342 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4343 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4346 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4347 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4348 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4349 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4352 @node Misc Group Stuff
4353 @section Misc Group Stuff
4356 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4357 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4358 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4359 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4360 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4367 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4368 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4369 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4372 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4375 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4378 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4379 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4383 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4384 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4385 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4389 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4390 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4391 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4392 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4393 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4394 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4395 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4399 @findex gnus-group-mail
4400 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4401 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4402 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4403 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4407 @findex gnus-group-news
4408 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4409 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4410 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4412 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4413 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4414 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4415 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4416 for this to work though.
4420 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4422 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4423 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4424 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4429 Variables for the group buffer:
4433 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4434 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4435 is called after the group buffer has been
4438 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4439 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4440 is called after the group buffer is
4441 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4444 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4445 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4446 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4447 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4449 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4450 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4451 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4452 whether they are empty or not.
4456 @node Scanning New Messages
4457 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4458 @cindex new messages
4459 @cindex scanning new news
4465 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4466 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4467 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4468 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4469 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4470 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4475 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4476 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4477 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4478 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4479 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4480 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4481 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4483 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4484 @cindex activating groups
4486 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4487 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4492 @findex gnus-group-restart
4493 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4494 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4495 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4499 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4500 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4502 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4503 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4507 @node Group Information
4508 @subsection Group Information
4509 @cindex group information
4510 @cindex information on groups
4517 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4519 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4520 @cindex describing groups
4521 @cindex group description
4522 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4523 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4524 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4528 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4529 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4530 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4537 @findex gnus-version
4538 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4542 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4543 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4546 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4549 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4550 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4554 @node Group Timestamp
4555 @subsection Group Timestamp
4557 @cindex group timestamps
4559 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4560 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4561 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4564 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4567 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4569 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4570 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4573 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4574 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4577 This will result in lines looking like:
4580 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4581 0: custom 19961002T012713
4584 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4585 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4589 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4590 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4593 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4594 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4598 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4599 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4600 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4601 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4603 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4607 To see what variables are dynamically bound (like
4608 @code{gnus-tmp-group}), you have to look at the source code. The
4609 variable names aren't guaranteed to be stable over Gnus versions,
4614 @subsection File Commands
4615 @cindex file commands
4621 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4622 @vindex gnus-init-file
4623 @cindex reading init file
4624 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4625 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4629 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4630 @cindex saving .newsrc
4631 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4632 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4633 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4636 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4637 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4638 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4643 @node Sieve Commands
4644 @subsection Sieve Commands
4645 @cindex group sieve commands
4647 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4648 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4649 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4650 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4651 script that can be transferred to the server somehow.
4653 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4654 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4655 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4656 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4657 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4658 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4659 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4660 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4661 regenerate the Sieve script.
4663 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4664 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4665 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4666 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4667 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4668 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4669 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4670 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4671 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4672 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4675 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4676 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4681 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4687 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4688 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4689 @cindex generating sieve script
4690 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4691 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4695 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4696 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4697 @cindex updating sieve script
4698 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4699 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4700 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4705 @node Summary Buffer
4706 @chapter Summary Buffer
4707 @cindex summary buffer
4709 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4710 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4712 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4713 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4715 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4717 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4718 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4722 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4723 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4724 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4726 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4730 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4731 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4732 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4733 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4734 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4735 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4736 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4737 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4738 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4739 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4740 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4741 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4742 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4743 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
4744 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4745 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4746 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4747 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4748 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4749 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4750 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4751 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4752 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4753 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4754 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4755 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4756 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4757 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4758 or reselecting the current group.
4759 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4760 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4761 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4762 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4766 @node Summary Buffer Format
4767 @section Summary Buffer Format
4768 @cindex summary buffer format
4772 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4773 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4774 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4780 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4781 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4782 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4783 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4786 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4787 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4788 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4789 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4790 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4791 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4792 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4793 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4794 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4795 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4796 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4799 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4800 'mail-extract-address-components)
4803 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4804 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4805 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4806 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4809 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4810 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4812 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4813 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4814 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4815 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4816 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4818 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4819 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4820 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4821 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4822 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4823 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4825 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4827 The following format specification characters and extended format
4828 specification(s) are understood:
4834 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4835 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4837 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4838 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4839 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4841 Full @code{From} header.
4843 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4845 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4848 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4849 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4850 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4851 may be more thorough.
4853 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4856 Number of lines in the article.
4858 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4859 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4861 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4862 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4864 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4866 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4867 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4880 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4881 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4882 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4883 line-drawing glyphs.
4885 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4886 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4887 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4888 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4890 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4891 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4892 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4893 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4895 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4896 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4897 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4898 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4900 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4901 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4902 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4904 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4905 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4906 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4908 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4909 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4910 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4912 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4913 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4914 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4919 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4920 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4922 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4923 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4925 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4926 for adopted articles.
4928 One space for each thread level.
4930 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4932 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4935 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4936 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4937 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4940 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4942 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4943 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4944 default level. If the difference between
4945 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4946 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4954 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4956 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4962 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4963 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4965 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4966 article has any children.
4972 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4974 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4975 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4977 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4978 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4979 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4980 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4981 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4982 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4985 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4986 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4987 There can only be one such area.
4989 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4990 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4991 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4992 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4993 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4994 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4996 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4997 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4999 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
5002 @node To From Newsgroups
5003 @subsection To From Newsgroups
5007 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
5008 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
5009 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
5010 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
5011 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
5015 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
5016 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
5017 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5021 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5022 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5025 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5026 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5029 @findex gnus-extra-header
5030 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5031 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5032 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5035 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5039 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5040 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5041 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5042 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5043 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5044 headers are used instead.
5046 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5047 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5048 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5049 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5050 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5051 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5055 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5056 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5057 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5058 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5059 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5060 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g., nnml) to cause
5063 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5064 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5065 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5066 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5068 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5072 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5074 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5075 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5076 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5077 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5081 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5084 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5085 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5088 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5089 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5090 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5096 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5097 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5100 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5101 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5103 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5104 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5105 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5106 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5108 Here are the elements you can play with:
5114 Unprefixed group name.
5116 Current article number.
5118 Current article score.
5122 Number of unread articles in this group.
5124 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5127 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5128 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5129 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5130 and no unselected ones.
5132 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5133 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5135 Subject of the current article.
5137 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5139 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5141 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5143 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5145 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5147 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5151 @node Summary Highlighting
5152 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5156 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5157 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5158 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5159 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5160 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5162 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5163 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5164 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5165 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5167 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5168 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5169 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5170 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5172 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5173 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5174 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5175 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5176 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5177 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5180 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5181 ((> score default) . bold))
5183 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5184 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5188 @node Summary Maneuvering
5189 @section Summary Maneuvering
5190 @cindex summary movement
5192 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5193 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5195 None of these commands select articles.
5200 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5201 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5202 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5203 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5204 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5208 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5209 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5211 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5212 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5215 @kindex G g (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5217 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5218 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5221 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5222 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5223 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5224 to the group buffer.
5226 Variables related to summary movement:
5230 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5231 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5232 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5233 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5234 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5235 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5236 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5237 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5238 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5239 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5240 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5241 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5242 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5243 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5245 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5246 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5247 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5248 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5249 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5250 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5251 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5253 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5255 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5256 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5257 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5258 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5259 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5261 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5262 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5263 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5264 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5265 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5266 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5267 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5268 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5271 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5272 the given number of lines from the top.
5274 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5275 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5276 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5277 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5282 @node Choosing Articles
5283 @section Choosing Articles
5284 @cindex selecting articles
5287 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5288 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5292 @node Choosing Commands
5293 @subsection Choosing Commands
5295 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5296 and they all select and display an article.
5298 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5299 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5303 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5305 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5306 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5308 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5309 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5310 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5315 @kindex G n (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5317 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5318 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5323 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5324 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5325 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5330 @kindex G N (Summary)
5331 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5332 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5337 @kindex G P (Summary)
5338 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5339 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5342 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5344 Go to the next article with the same subject
5345 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5348 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5350 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5351 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5355 @kindex G f (Summary)
5357 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5358 Go to the first unread article
5359 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5363 @kindex G b (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5366 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5367 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5368 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5373 @kindex G l (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5375 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5378 @kindex G o (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5381 @cindex article history
5382 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5383 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5384 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5385 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5386 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5387 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5392 @kindex G j (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5394 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5395 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5400 @node Choosing Variables
5401 @subsection Choosing Variables
5403 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5406 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5407 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5408 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5409 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5410 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5411 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5413 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5414 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5415 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5416 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5417 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5420 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5421 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5422 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5423 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5424 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5425 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5426 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5427 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5428 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5429 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5430 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5431 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5432 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5433 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5438 @node Paging the Article
5439 @section Scrolling the Article
5440 @cindex article scrolling
5445 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5447 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5448 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5449 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5451 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5452 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5453 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5454 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5455 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5456 what is considered uninteresting with
5457 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5458 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5461 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5462 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5463 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5466 @kindex RET (Summary)
5467 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5468 Scroll the current article one line forward
5469 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5472 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5473 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5474 Scroll the current article one line backward
5475 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5479 @kindex A g (Summary)
5481 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5482 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5483 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5484 given a prefix, show a completely ``raw'' article, just the way it
5485 came from the server. If given a prefix twice (i.e., @kbd{C-u C-u
5486 g'}), fetch the current article, but don't run any of the article
5487 treatment functions.
5489 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
5490 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5491 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5492 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5495 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5500 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5505 @kindex A < (Summary)
5506 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5507 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5508 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5513 @kindex A > (Summary)
5514 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5515 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5519 @kindex A s (Summary)
5521 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5522 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5523 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5527 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5528 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5533 @node Reply Followup and Post
5534 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5537 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5538 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5539 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5540 * Canceling and Superseding::
5544 @node Summary Mail Commands
5545 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5547 @cindex composing mail
5549 Commands for composing a mail message:
5555 @kindex S r (Summary)
5557 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5558 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5559 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5560 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5561 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5566 @kindex S R (Summary)
5567 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5568 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5569 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5570 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5571 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5574 @kindex S w (Summary)
5575 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5576 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5577 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5578 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5579 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5580 present, that's used instead.
5583 @kindex S W (Summary)
5584 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5585 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5586 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5587 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
5588 first article to determine the recipients.
5591 @kindex S L (Summary)
5592 @findex gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original
5593 When replying to a message from a mailing list, send a reply to that
5594 message to the mailing list, and include the original message
5595 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original}).
5598 @kindex S v (Summary)
5599 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5600 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5601 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5602 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5603 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5604 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5607 @kindex S V (Summary)
5608 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5609 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5610 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5611 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5614 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5615 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5616 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5617 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5618 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5619 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5620 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5621 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5624 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5625 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5626 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5627 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5628 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5632 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5633 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5634 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5635 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5636 Forward the current article to some other person
5637 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5638 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5639 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5640 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5641 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5642 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5643 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5644 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5645 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5651 @kindex S m (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5653 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5654 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5655 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5656 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5659 @kindex S i (Summary)
5660 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5661 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5662 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5663 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5665 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5666 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5667 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5668 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5669 for this to work though.
5672 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5673 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5674 @cindex bouncing mail
5675 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5676 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5677 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5678 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5679 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5680 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5681 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5682 very well fail, though.
5685 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5686 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5687 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5688 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5689 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5690 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5691 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5692 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5693 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5694 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5696 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5697 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5698 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5699 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5700 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5702 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5703 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5706 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5709 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5710 if it were a new message before resending.
5713 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5714 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5715 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5716 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5717 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5720 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5721 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5722 @cindex crossposting
5723 @cindex excessive crossposting
5724 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5725 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5727 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5728 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5729 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5730 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5731 command understands the process/prefix convention
5732 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5736 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5737 Manual}, for more information.
5740 @node Summary Post Commands
5741 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5743 @cindex composing news
5745 Commands for posting a news article:
5751 @kindex S p (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5753 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5754 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5755 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5756 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5761 @kindex S f (Summary)
5762 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5763 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5764 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5768 @kindex S F (Summary)
5770 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5771 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5772 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5773 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5774 process/prefix convention.
5777 @kindex S n (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5779 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5780 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5783 @kindex S N (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5785 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5786 message through mail and include the original message
5787 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5788 the process/prefix convention.
5791 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5792 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5793 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5794 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5795 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5796 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5797 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5798 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5799 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5800 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5801 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5802 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5803 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5806 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5809 @cindex making digests
5810 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5811 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5812 process/prefix convention.
5815 @kindex S u (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5817 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5818 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5819 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5822 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5823 Manual}, for more information.
5826 @node Summary Message Commands
5827 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5831 @kindex S y (Summary)
5832 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5833 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5834 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5835 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5836 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5841 @node Canceling and Superseding
5842 @subsection Canceling Articles
5843 @cindex canceling articles
5844 @cindex superseding articles
5846 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5847 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5849 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5851 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5853 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5854 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5855 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5856 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5857 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5858 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5860 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5861 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5864 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5865 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5866 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5868 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5869 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5870 message, Message Manual}).
5872 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5873 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5874 your original article.
5876 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5878 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5879 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5880 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5883 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5884 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5885 have posted almost the same article twice.
5887 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5888 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5889 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5890 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5891 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5892 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5893 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5894 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5895 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5896 canceled/superseded.
5898 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5900 @node Delayed Articles
5901 @section Delayed Articles
5902 @cindex delayed sending
5903 @cindex send delayed
5905 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5906 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5907 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5908 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5911 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5914 @findex gnus-delay-article
5915 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5916 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5917 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5918 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5922 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5923 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5924 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5925 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5928 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5929 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5930 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5933 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5934 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5935 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5936 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5937 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5938 that means a time tomorrow.
5941 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5942 couple of variables:
5945 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5946 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5947 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5948 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5950 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5951 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5952 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5953 formats described above.
5955 @item gnus-delay-group
5956 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5957 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5958 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5959 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5961 @item gnus-delay-header
5962 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5963 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5964 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5965 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5968 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5969 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5970 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5971 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5972 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5974 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5975 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5976 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5977 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5978 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5979 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5980 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5983 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5984 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5985 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5986 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5987 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5988 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5989 argument is ignored.
5991 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5992 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5993 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5996 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
5997 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
5998 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
5999 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
6000 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
6003 @node Marking Articles
6004 @section Marking Articles
6005 @cindex article marking
6006 @cindex article ticking
6009 There are several marks you can set on an article.
6011 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
6012 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
6013 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
6015 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
6018 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6022 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6023 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6024 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6025 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6026 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6027 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6031 @node Unread Articles
6032 @subsection Unread Articles
6034 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6039 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6040 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6042 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6043 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6044 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6045 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6046 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6047 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6048 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6051 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6052 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6054 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6055 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6056 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6057 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6061 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6062 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6064 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6069 @subsection Read Articles
6070 @cindex expirable mark
6072 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6077 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6078 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6079 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6082 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6083 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6086 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6087 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6088 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6091 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6092 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6095 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6096 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6099 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6100 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6103 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6104 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6107 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6108 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6111 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6112 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6116 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6117 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6118 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6122 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6123 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6125 One more special mark, though:
6129 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6130 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6132 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6133 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6134 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6135 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6141 @subsection Other Marks
6142 @cindex process mark
6145 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6151 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6152 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6153 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6154 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6155 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6158 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6159 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6160 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6161 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6164 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6165 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6166 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6169 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6170 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6171 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6174 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6175 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6176 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6177 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6180 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6181 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6182 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6185 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6186 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6187 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6188 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6189 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6193 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6194 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6195 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6196 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6197 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6198 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6201 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6202 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6203 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6204 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6205 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6206 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6210 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6211 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6212 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6213 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6214 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6217 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6218 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6219 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6220 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6221 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6222 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6226 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6227 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6228 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6230 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6231 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6232 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6236 @subsection Setting Marks
6237 @cindex setting marks
6239 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6244 @kindex M c (Summary)
6245 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6247 @cindex mark as unread
6248 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6249 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6255 @kindex M t (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6257 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6258 @xref{Article Caching}.
6263 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6265 Mark the current article as dormant
6266 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6270 @kindex M d (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6273 Mark the current article as read
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6278 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6279 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6280 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6285 @kindex M k (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6287 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6288 and then select the next unread article
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6293 @kindex M K (Summary)
6294 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6296 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6297 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6300 @kindex M C (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6302 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6303 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6306 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6307 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6308 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6309 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6312 @kindex M H (Summary)
6313 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6314 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6315 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6318 @kindex M h (Summary)
6319 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6320 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6321 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6324 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6325 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6326 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6327 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6330 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6332 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6333 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6337 @kindex M e (Summary)
6339 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6340 Mark the current article as expirable
6341 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6344 @kindex M b (Summary)
6345 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6346 Set a bookmark in the current article
6347 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6350 @kindex M B (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6352 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6353 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6356 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6358 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6359 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6362 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6364 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6365 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6368 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6369 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6370 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6371 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6372 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6375 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6376 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6377 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6378 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6379 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6380 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6381 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6382 The default is @code{t}.
6385 @node Generic Marking Commands
6386 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6388 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) to
6389 go to the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6390 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article.
6391 And even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6392 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6395 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6396 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6399 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6400 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6401 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6402 to list in this manual.
6404 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6405 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6406 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6407 article, you could say something like:
6411 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6412 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6413 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6421 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6422 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6426 @node Setting Process Marks
6427 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6428 @cindex setting process marks
6430 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6431 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6432 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6433 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6434 articles into the cache. For more information,
6435 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6442 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6443 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6444 Mark the current article with the process mark
6445 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6446 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6450 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6451 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6452 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6453 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6456 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6457 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6458 Remove the process mark from all articles
6459 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6462 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6463 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6464 Invert the list of process marked articles
6465 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6468 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6469 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6470 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6471 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6474 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6475 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6476 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6477 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6480 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6481 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6482 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6485 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6486 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6487 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6490 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6491 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6492 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6493 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6496 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6497 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6498 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6499 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6502 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6503 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6504 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6505 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6508 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6509 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6510 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6513 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6514 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6515 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6516 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6519 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6520 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6521 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6524 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6525 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6526 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6527 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6530 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6531 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6532 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6533 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6536 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6537 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6538 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6539 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6542 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6543 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6544 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6545 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6549 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6550 set process marks based on article body contents.
6557 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6558 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6559 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6562 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
6563 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
6570 @kindex / / (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6572 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6573 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6577 @kindex / a (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6579 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6580 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6584 @kindex / R (Summary)
6585 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6586 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6587 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6591 @kindex / A (Summary)
6592 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
6593 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
6594 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
6595 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
6598 @kindex / S (Summary)
6599 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6600 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6601 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6602 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6605 @kindex / x (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6607 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6608 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6609 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6614 @kindex / u (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6617 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6618 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6619 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6620 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6623 @kindex / m (Summary)
6624 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6625 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6626 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6629 @kindex / t (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6631 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6632 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6633 articles younger than that number of days.
6636 @kindex / n (Summary)
6637 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6638 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6639 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6640 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6643 @kindex / w (Summary)
6644 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6645 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6646 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6650 @kindex / . (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6652 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6653 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6656 @kindex / v (Summary)
6657 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6658 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6659 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6662 @kindex / p (Summary)
6663 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6664 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6665 group parameter predicate
6666 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6667 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6670 @kindex / r (Summary)
6671 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6672 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6673 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6678 @kindex M S (Summary)
6679 @kindex / E (Summary)
6680 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6681 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6682 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6685 @kindex / D (Summary)
6686 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6687 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6688 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6691 @kindex / * (Summary)
6692 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6693 Include all cached articles in the limit
6694 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6697 @kindex / d (Summary)
6698 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6699 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6700 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6703 @kindex / M (Summary)
6704 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6705 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6708 @kindex / T (Summary)
6709 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6710 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6713 @kindex / c (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6715 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6716 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6719 @kindex / C (Summary)
6720 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6721 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6722 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6723 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6726 @kindex / b (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6728 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6729 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6730 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6731 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6734 @kindex / h (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6736 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6737 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6742 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
6747 @kindex / N (Summary)
6748 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6749 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6750 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6753 @kindex / o (Summary)
6754 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6755 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6756 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6764 @cindex article threading
6766 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6767 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6768 hierarchical fashion.
6770 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6771 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6772 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6773 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6774 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6775 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6776 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6778 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6782 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6785 A tree-like article structure.
6788 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6791 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6792 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6793 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6794 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6795 called loose threads.
6797 @item thread gathering
6798 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6800 @item sparse threads
6801 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6802 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6808 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6809 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6813 @node Customizing Threading
6814 @subsection Customizing Threading
6815 @cindex customizing threading
6818 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6819 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6820 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6821 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6826 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6829 @cindex loose threads
6832 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6833 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6834 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6835 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6836 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6837 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6839 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6840 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6841 There are four possible values:
6845 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6846 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6847 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6848 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6849 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6854 @cindex adopting articles
6859 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6860 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6861 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6862 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6865 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6866 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6867 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6868 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6869 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6870 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6871 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6872 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6873 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6874 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6877 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6878 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6879 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6883 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6884 display them after one another.
6887 Don't gather loose threads.
6890 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6891 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6892 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6893 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6894 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6895 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6896 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6897 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6898 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6899 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6900 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6902 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6903 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6904 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6907 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6908 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6909 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6910 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6911 simplification is used.
6913 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6914 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6915 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6916 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6918 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6920 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6926 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6927 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6928 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6929 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6934 (mapconcat 'identity
6935 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6937 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6940 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6943 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6944 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6945 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6946 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6947 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6948 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6950 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6953 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6954 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6955 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6957 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6958 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6961 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6962 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6963 Remove excessive whitespace.
6965 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6966 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6967 Remove all whitespace.
6970 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6973 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6974 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6975 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6976 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6977 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6978 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6979 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6980 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6982 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6983 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6984 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6985 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6986 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6987 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6988 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6989 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6990 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6994 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6995 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6996 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6997 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6999 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7000 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7001 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
7004 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
7008 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7009 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
7015 @node Filling In Threads
7016 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
7019 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
7020 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7021 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7022 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7023 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7024 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7025 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7026 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7027 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7028 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7029 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7030 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7033 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7034 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7035 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7037 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7039 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7040 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7041 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7042 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7043 slow summary generation.
7045 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7046 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7047 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7050 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7051 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7052 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7053 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7054 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7055 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7056 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7057 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7058 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7059 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7060 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7061 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7062 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7063 @code{nil} by default.
7065 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7066 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7067 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7068 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7069 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7070 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7073 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7074 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7075 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7080 @node More Threading
7081 @subsubsection More Threading
7084 @item gnus-show-threads
7085 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7086 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7087 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7088 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7089 slower and more awkward.
7091 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7092 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7093 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7096 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7097 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7098 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7103 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7104 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7105 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7108 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7109 unread, but you get my drift.)
7112 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7113 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7114 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7115 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7116 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7117 threads are expunged.
7119 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7120 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7121 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7124 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7125 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7126 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7127 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7128 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7129 result in a new thread.
7131 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7132 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7133 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7136 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7137 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7138 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7139 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7140 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7141 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7142 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7143 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7144 (e.g., @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7145 appropriate hook (e.g., @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7146 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7151 @node Low-Level Threading
7152 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7156 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7157 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7158 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7160 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7161 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7162 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7163 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7164 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7165 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7166 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7167 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7168 meaningful. Here's one example:
7171 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7173 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7174 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7176 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7178 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7185 @node Thread Commands
7186 @subsection Thread Commands
7187 @cindex thread commands
7193 @kindex T k (Summary)
7194 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7195 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7196 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7197 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7198 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7203 @kindex T l (Summary)
7204 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7205 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7206 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7207 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7210 @kindex T i (Summary)
7211 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7212 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7213 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7216 @kindex T # (Summary)
7217 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7218 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7219 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7222 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7223 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7224 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7225 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7228 @kindex T T (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7230 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7233 @kindex T s (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7235 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7236 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7239 @kindex T h (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7241 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7244 @kindex T S (Summary)
7245 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7246 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7249 @kindex T H (Summary)
7250 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7251 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7254 @kindex T t (Summary)
7255 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7256 Re-thread the current article's thread
7257 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7258 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7261 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7262 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7263 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7264 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7267 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7268 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7269 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7270 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7274 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7275 understand the numeric prefix.
7280 @kindex T n (Summary)
7282 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7284 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7286 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7289 @kindex T p (Summary)
7291 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7293 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7295 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7298 @kindex T d (Summary)
7299 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7300 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7303 @kindex T u (Summary)
7304 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7305 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7308 @kindex T o (Summary)
7309 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7310 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7313 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7314 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7315 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7316 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7317 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7318 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7319 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7320 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7321 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7322 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7323 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7324 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7328 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7329 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7331 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7332 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7333 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7334 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7335 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7336 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7337 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7338 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7339 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7340 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7341 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7342 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7343 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7344 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7345 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7347 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7348 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7349 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7350 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7351 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
7352 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7353 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7354 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7355 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7356 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7358 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7359 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7360 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. Exceptions
7361 to this rule are @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number} and
7362 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date}.
7364 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7365 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7366 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7367 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7368 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7369 ascending article order.
7371 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7372 by number, you could do something like:
7375 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7376 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7377 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7378 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7381 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7382 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7383 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7384 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7385 which the articles arrived.
7387 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7391 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7392 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7393 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7396 By default, threads including their subthreads are sorted according to
7397 the value of @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}. By customizing
7398 @code{gnus-subthread-sort-functions} you can define a custom sorting
7399 order for subthreads. This allows for example to sort threads from
7400 high score to low score in the summary buffer, but to have subthreads
7401 still sorted chronologically from old to new without taking their
7404 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7405 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7406 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7407 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7410 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7411 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7412 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
7413 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7414 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7415 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7416 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7417 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7418 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
7419 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7420 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7421 variable. It is very similar to the
7422 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7423 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7424 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7425 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7426 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7427 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7428 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7430 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7434 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7435 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7436 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7439 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7440 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7443 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7444 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7445 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7446 @cindex article pre-fetch
7449 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7450 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7451 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7452 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7453 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7455 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7456 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7458 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7459 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7460 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7461 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7462 connection is blocked.
7464 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7465 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7466 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7467 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7469 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7470 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7471 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7472 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7475 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7478 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7479 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7480 happen automatically.
7482 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7483 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7484 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7485 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7486 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7487 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7488 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7490 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7491 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
7492 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7493 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7494 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7495 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7496 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
7497 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7498 article data structure as the only parameter.
7500 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7501 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7504 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7505 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7506 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7507 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7510 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7513 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7514 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7515 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7517 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
7518 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
7519 After an article has been prefetched, this
7520 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
7521 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
7522 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
7523 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
7524 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
7525 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
7527 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7528 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7529 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7530 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7534 Remove articles when they are read.
7537 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7540 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7542 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7543 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7544 @c from the next group.
7547 @node Article Caching
7548 @section Article Caching
7549 @cindex article caching
7552 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7553 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7554 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7555 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7556 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7558 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7560 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7561 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7562 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7563 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7564 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7565 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7566 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7567 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7569 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7570 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7571 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7572 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7573 as dormant, and don't worry.
7575 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7577 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7578 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7579 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7580 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7581 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7582 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7583 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7584 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7585 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7586 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7588 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7589 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7590 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7591 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7592 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7593 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7594 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7595 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7596 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7597 not then be downloaded by this command.
7599 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7600 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7601 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7602 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7603 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7604 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7606 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7607 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7608 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7609 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7610 variables, the group is not cached.
7612 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7613 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7614 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7615 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7616 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7617 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7618 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7619 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7620 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7623 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7624 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7625 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7626 where, isn't that cool?
7628 @node Persistent Articles
7629 @section Persistent Articles
7630 @cindex persistent articles
7632 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7633 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7634 useful in my opinion.
7636 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7637 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7638 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7639 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7640 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7641 the expiry going on at the news server.
7643 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7644 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7645 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7651 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7652 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7655 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7656 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7657 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7658 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7662 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7664 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7665 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7666 interested in persistent articles:
7669 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7672 @node Sticky Articles
7673 @section Sticky Articles
7674 @cindex sticky articles
7676 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
7677 according to the value of the variable
7678 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
7679 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
7680 has its own article buffer.
7682 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
7683 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
7684 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
7685 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next Christmas party.
7687 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
7688 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
7689 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
7693 @kindex A S (Summary)
7694 @findex gnus-sticky-article
7695 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
7696 name for this sticky article buffer.
7699 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
7705 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
7709 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
7710 Kills this sticky article buffer.
7713 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
7715 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
7716 Kill all sticky article buffers.
7717 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
7720 @node Article Backlog
7721 @section Article Backlog
7723 @cindex article backlog
7725 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7726 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7727 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7728 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7729 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7730 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7731 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7732 increase memory usage some.
7734 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7735 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7736 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7737 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7738 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7739 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7740 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7742 The default value is 20.
7745 @node Saving Articles
7746 @section Saving Articles
7747 @cindex saving articles
7749 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7750 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7751 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7752 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7753 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7755 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7756 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7757 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7759 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7760 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7761 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7763 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7764 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7765 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7766 deleted before saving.
7772 @kindex O o (Summary)
7774 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7775 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7776 Save the current article using the default article saver
7777 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7780 @kindex O m (Summary)
7781 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7782 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7783 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7786 @kindex O r (Summary)
7787 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7788 Save the current article in Rmail format
7789 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
7790 Babyl in older versions.
7793 @kindex O f (Summary)
7794 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7795 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7796 Save the current article in plain file format
7797 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7800 @kindex O F (Summary)
7801 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7802 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7803 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7806 @kindex O b (Summary)
7807 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7808 Save the current article body in plain file format
7809 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7812 @kindex O h (Summary)
7813 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7814 Save the current article in mh folder format
7815 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7818 @kindex O v (Summary)
7819 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7820 Save the current article in a VM folder
7821 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7825 @kindex O p (Summary)
7827 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7828 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
7829 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7830 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7831 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7832 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
7833 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
7834 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
7835 to a string containing the default command and options (default
7839 @kindex O P (Summary)
7840 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7841 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7842 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7843 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7844 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7845 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7846 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7850 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7851 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7852 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7853 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7854 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7855 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7856 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7857 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7858 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7859 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7860 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7861 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7865 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7866 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7867 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7868 functions below, or you can create your own.
7872 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7873 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7874 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7875 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7876 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
7877 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
7878 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
7879 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
7880 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
7881 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7882 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7884 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7885 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7886 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7887 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7888 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7889 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7891 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7892 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7893 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7894 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7895 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7896 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7897 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7899 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7900 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7901 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7902 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7903 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7904 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7906 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7907 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7908 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7909 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7910 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7912 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7913 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7914 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7915 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7916 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7917 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7919 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7920 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7921 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7922 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7923 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7926 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7927 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7928 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7929 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7930 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7932 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7933 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7934 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7935 reader to use this setting.
7937 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7938 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7939 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
7940 arguments COMMAND and RAW@. Valid values for COMMAND include:
7944 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
7946 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
7947 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
7948 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
7949 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
7950 last used for saving.
7953 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
7954 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
7955 headers will be piped.
7958 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7962 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7963 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7964 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7965 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
7966 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
7967 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
7970 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7971 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7972 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7973 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7974 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7975 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7978 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7979 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7980 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7981 headers should be saved.
7984 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7985 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7986 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7987 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7990 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7991 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7992 available functions that generate names:
7996 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7997 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7998 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8000 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
8001 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8002 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8004 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
8005 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
8006 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8008 @item gnus-plain-save-name
8009 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8010 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8012 @item gnus-sender-save-name
8013 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
8014 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
8017 @vindex gnus-split-methods
8018 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
8019 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
8020 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
8021 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
8025 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
8026 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
8027 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
8028 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8031 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8032 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8033 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8034 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8035 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8036 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8037 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8038 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8039 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8041 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8042 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8043 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8044 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8046 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8047 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8048 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8051 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8052 lots of mail groups called things like
8053 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8054 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8055 following will do just that:
8058 (defun my-save-name (group)
8059 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8060 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8062 (setq gnus-split-methods
8063 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8068 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8069 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8070 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8071 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8072 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8073 all the files in the top level directory
8074 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8075 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8076 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8077 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8079 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8080 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8081 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8082 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8083 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8086 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8090 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8091 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8092 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8095 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8096 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8097 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8098 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8101 @node Decoding Articles
8102 @section Decoding Articles
8103 @cindex decoding articles
8105 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8106 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8109 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8110 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8111 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8112 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8113 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8114 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8118 @cindex article series
8119 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8120 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8121 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8122 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8123 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8125 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8126 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8127 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8129 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8130 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8131 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8133 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8134 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8135 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8138 @node Uuencoded Articles
8139 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8141 @cindex uuencoded articles
8146 @kindex X u (Summary)
8147 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8148 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8149 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8152 @kindex X U (Summary)
8153 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8154 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8155 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8158 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8159 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8160 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8163 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8164 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8165 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8166 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8170 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8171 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8172 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8173 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8174 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8176 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8177 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8178 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8179 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8182 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8183 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8184 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8185 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8186 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8187 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8191 @node Shell Archives
8192 @subsection Shell Archives
8194 @cindex shell archives
8195 @cindex shared articles
8197 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8198 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8199 some commands to deal with these:
8204 @kindex X s (Summary)
8205 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8206 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8209 @kindex X S (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8211 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8214 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8215 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8216 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8219 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8220 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8221 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8222 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8226 @node PostScript Files
8227 @subsection PostScript Files
8233 @kindex X p (Summary)
8234 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8235 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8238 @kindex X P (Summary)
8239 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8240 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8241 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8244 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8245 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8246 View the current PostScript series
8247 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8250 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8251 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8252 View and save the current PostScript series
8253 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8258 @subsection Other Files
8262 @kindex X o (Summary)
8263 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8264 Save the current series
8265 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8268 @kindex X b (Summary)
8269 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8270 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8271 doesn't really work yet.
8274 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8275 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8276 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8280 @node Decoding Variables
8281 @subsection Decoding Variables
8283 Adjective, not verb.
8286 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8287 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8288 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8292 @node Rule Variables
8293 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8294 @cindex rule variables
8296 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8297 variables are of the form
8300 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8307 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8308 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8310 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8311 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8314 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8315 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8318 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8319 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8320 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8321 user and default view rules.
8323 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8324 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8325 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8330 @node Other Decode Variables
8331 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8334 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8336 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8337 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8338 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8339 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8340 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8344 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8345 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8348 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8349 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8350 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8353 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8354 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8355 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8356 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8357 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8360 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8361 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8362 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8364 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8365 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8366 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8367 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8368 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8371 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8372 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8373 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8375 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8376 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8377 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8378 looking for files to display.
8380 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8381 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8382 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8385 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8386 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8387 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8390 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8391 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8392 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8395 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8396 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8397 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8400 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8401 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8402 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8403 decoded articles as unread.
8405 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8406 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8407 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8408 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8410 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8411 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8412 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8414 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8415 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8417 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8418 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8419 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8420 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8422 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8423 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8424 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8425 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8426 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8427 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8428 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8429 simply dropped them.
8434 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8435 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8439 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8440 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8441 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8442 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8443 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8444 for you when you post the article.
8446 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8447 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8448 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8449 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8451 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8452 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8453 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8454 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8455 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8456 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8457 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8459 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8460 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8461 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8462 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8463 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8464 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8465 Default is @code{t}.
8471 @subsection Viewing Files
8472 @cindex viewing files
8473 @cindex pseudo-articles
8475 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8476 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8477 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8478 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8479 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8480 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8481 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8483 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8484 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8485 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8486 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8488 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8489 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8490 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8492 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8493 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8494 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8495 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8496 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8498 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8499 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8500 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8501 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8502 a list of parameters to that command.
8504 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8505 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8506 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8508 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8509 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8510 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8513 @node Article Treatment
8514 @section Article Treatment
8516 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8517 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8518 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8519 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8520 these articles easier.
8523 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8524 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8525 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8526 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8527 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8528 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8529 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8530 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8531 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
8532 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
8533 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8534 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8538 @node Article Highlighting
8539 @subsection Article Highlighting
8540 @cindex highlighting
8542 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8543 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8548 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8549 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8550 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8551 Do much highlighting of the current article
8552 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8553 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8556 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8557 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8558 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8559 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8560 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8561 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8562 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8563 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8564 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8565 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8566 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8567 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8570 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8571 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8572 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8574 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8577 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8579 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8580 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8581 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8583 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8584 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8585 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8587 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8588 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8589 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8590 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8591 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8592 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8594 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8595 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8596 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8598 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8599 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8600 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8602 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8603 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8604 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8605 that it's a citation.
8607 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8608 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8609 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8611 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8612 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8613 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8615 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8616 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8617 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8618 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8620 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8621 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8622 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8623 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8624 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8631 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8632 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8633 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8634 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8635 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8636 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8637 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8638 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8643 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8646 @node Article Fontisizing
8647 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8649 @cindex article emphasis
8651 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8652 @kindex W e (Summary)
8653 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8654 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8655 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8656 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8658 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8659 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8660 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8661 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8662 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8663 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8664 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8665 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8669 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8670 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8671 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8680 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8681 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8682 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8683 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8684 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8685 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8686 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8687 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8688 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8689 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8690 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8691 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8692 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8694 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8695 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8696 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8700 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8703 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8705 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8706 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8707 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8708 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8710 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8713 @node Article Hiding
8714 @subsection Article Hiding
8715 @cindex article hiding
8717 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8718 too much cruft in most articles.
8723 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-article-hide
8725 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8726 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8727 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8730 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8731 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8732 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8736 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8737 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8738 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8739 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8742 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8743 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8744 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8748 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8749 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8750 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8751 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8752 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8753 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8754 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8755 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8759 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8760 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8761 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8762 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8767 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8768 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8769 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8770 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8773 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8775 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8776 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8779 @cindex stripping advertisements
8780 @cindex advertisements
8781 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8782 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8783 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8784 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8785 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8786 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8787 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8788 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8789 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8790 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8796 (setq gnus-article-banner-alist
8798 "^\n*--~--~---------\\(.+\n\\)+")))
8801 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8802 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8803 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8807 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8808 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8809 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8810 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8811 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8812 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8813 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8814 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8815 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8816 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8817 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8820 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8821 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8827 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8828 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8829 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8830 customizing the hiding:
8834 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8835 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8836 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8837 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8838 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8839 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8840 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8845 Starting point of the hidden text.
8847 Ending point of the hidden text.
8849 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8851 Number of lines of hidden text.
8854 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8855 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8856 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8857 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8858 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8863 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8864 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8866 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8867 following two variables:
8870 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8871 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8872 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8873 50), hide the cited text.
8875 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8876 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8877 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8882 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8883 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8884 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8885 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8886 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8887 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8891 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8892 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8893 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8895 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8896 citation customization.
8898 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8902 @node Article Washing
8903 @subsection Article Washing
8905 @cindex article washing
8907 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8908 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8910 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8911 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8914 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8915 articles by default.
8920 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8921 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8925 Force redisplaying of the current article
8926 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8927 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8928 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8929 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8932 @kindex W l (Summary)
8933 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8934 Remove page breaks from the current article
8935 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8939 @kindex W r (Summary)
8940 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8941 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8942 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8943 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8944 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8945 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8947 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8948 positions in the alphabet, e.g., @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8949 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8950 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8953 @kindex W m (Summary)
8954 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8955 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8958 @kindex W i (Summary)
8959 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8960 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8961 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8962 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8963 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8964 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8969 @kindex W t (Summary)
8971 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8972 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8973 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8976 @kindex W v (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8978 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8979 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8982 @kindex W o (Summary)
8983 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8984 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8987 @kindex W d (Summary)
8988 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8989 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8991 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8993 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8994 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8995 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8996 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8999 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
9000 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
9001 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
9002 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
9005 @kindex W U (Summary)
9006 @findex gnus-article-treat-non-ascii
9008 @cindex Non-@acronym{ASCII}
9009 Translate many non-@acronym{ASCII} characters into their
9010 @acronym{ASCII} equivalents (@code{gnus-article-treat-non-ascii}).
9011 This is mostly useful if you're on a terminal that has a limited font
9012 and doesn't show accented characters, ``advanced'' punctuation, and the
9013 like. For instance, @samp{»} is translated into @samp{>>}, and so on.
9016 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
9017 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
9018 @cindex Outlook Express
9019 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
9020 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
9021 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
9024 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
9025 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
9026 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
9027 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
9028 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
9029 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
9030 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
9031 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
9032 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
9033 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9036 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9037 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9038 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9039 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9042 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9043 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9044 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9045 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9048 @kindex W w (Summary)
9049 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9050 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9052 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9056 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9057 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9058 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9061 @kindex W C (Summary)
9062 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9063 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9064 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9067 @kindex W c (Summary)
9068 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9069 Translate CRLF pairs (i.e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9070 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9071 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9072 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9075 @kindex W q (Summary)
9076 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9077 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9078 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9079 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9080 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9081 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9082 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9083 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9084 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9087 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9088 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9089 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9090 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9091 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9092 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9093 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9094 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9097 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9098 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9099 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9100 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9101 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9104 @kindex W A (Summary)
9105 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9106 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9107 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9108 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9109 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9112 @kindex W u (Summary)
9113 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9114 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9115 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9116 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9117 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9120 @kindex W h (Summary)
9121 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9122 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9123 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9124 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9126 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9127 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9128 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9130 The default is to use the function specified by
9131 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9132 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9133 @acronym{HTML}. Pre-defined functions you can use include:
9137 Use Gnus simple html renderer.
9140 Use Gnus rendered based on w3m.
9143 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9145 @item w3m-standalone
9146 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9149 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9152 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9155 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9160 @kindex W b (Summary)
9161 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9162 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9163 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9166 @kindex W B (Summary)
9167 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9168 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9169 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9172 @kindex W p (Summary)
9173 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9174 Verify a signed control message
9175 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9176 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9177 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9178 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9179 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9180 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9183 @kindex W s (Summary)
9184 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9185 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9186 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9187 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9190 @kindex W a (Summary)
9191 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9192 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9193 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9196 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9197 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9198 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9199 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9202 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9203 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9204 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9205 lines with a single empty line.
9206 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9209 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9210 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9211 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9212 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9215 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9216 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9217 Do all the three commands above
9218 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9221 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9222 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9223 Remove all blank lines
9224 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9227 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9228 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9229 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9230 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9233 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9234 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9235 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9236 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9240 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9243 @node Article Header
9244 @subsection Article Header
9246 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9251 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9252 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9253 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9256 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9257 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9258 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9259 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9262 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9263 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9264 Fold all the message headers
9265 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9268 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9269 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9270 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9271 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9276 @node Article Buttons
9277 @subsection Article Buttons
9280 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9281 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9282 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9283 button on these references.
9285 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9286 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9287 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9288 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9289 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9293 @item gnus-button-alist
9294 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9295 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9298 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9304 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9305 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9306 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9307 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9308 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9311 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9312 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9313 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9316 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9317 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9318 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9319 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9320 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9322 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9325 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9328 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9329 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9333 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9336 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9339 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9340 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9341 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9342 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9343 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9346 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9349 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9352 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9355 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9356 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9358 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9360 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9361 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9362 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9363 default values of the variables above.
9365 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9367 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9368 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9369 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9370 argument with a string naming the man page.
9372 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9374 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9375 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9376 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9378 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9379 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9380 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9381 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9382 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9383 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9384 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9385 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
9386 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9387 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9388 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9389 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9391 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9392 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9393 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9394 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9395 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9398 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9399 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9400 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9401 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9405 @item gnus-article-button-face
9406 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9407 Face used on buttons.
9409 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9410 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9411 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9415 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9418 @node Article Button Levels
9419 @subsection Article button levels
9420 @cindex button levels
9421 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9422 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9423 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9424 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9425 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9426 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9427 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9428 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9431 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9432 (setq gnus-parameters
9433 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9434 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9435 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9440 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9441 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9442 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9443 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9444 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9445 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9447 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9448 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9449 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9450 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9451 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9452 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9453 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9454 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9455 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9456 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9457 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9458 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9459 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9461 @item gnus-button-man-level
9462 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9463 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9464 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9466 @item gnus-button-message-level
9467 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9468 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9469 Related variables and functions include
9470 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9471 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9472 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9473 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9479 @subsection Article Date
9481 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9482 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9483 when the article was sent.
9488 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9489 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9490 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9491 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9494 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9495 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9497 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9498 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9501 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9502 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9503 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9506 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9507 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9508 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9509 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9512 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9513 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9514 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9515 @findex format-time-string
9516 Display the date using a user-defined format
9517 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9518 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9519 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9520 for a list of possible format specs.
9523 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9524 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9525 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9526 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9527 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9528 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9531 Date: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9534 To make this line updated continually, set the
9535 @code{gnus-article-update-date-headers} variable to the frequency in
9536 seconds (the default is @code{nil}).
9539 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9540 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9541 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9542 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9543 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9544 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9545 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9549 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9550 preferred format automatically.
9553 @node Article Display
9554 @subsection Article Display
9560 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9561 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9563 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9564 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9566 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9567 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9569 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9570 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9572 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9573 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9575 Gravatars reside on-line and are fetched from
9576 @uref{http://www.gravatar.com/} (@pxref{Gravatars}).
9578 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9583 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9584 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9585 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9586 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9589 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9590 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9591 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9592 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9595 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9596 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9597 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9600 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9601 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9602 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9605 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9606 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9607 Piconify all mail headers (i.e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9608 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9611 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9613 Piconify all news headers (i.e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9614 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9617 @kindex W D g (Summary)
9618 @findex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
9619 Gravatarify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9622 @kindex W D h (Summary)
9623 @findex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
9624 Gravatarify all mail headers (i.e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9625 (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9628 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9629 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9630 Remove all images from the article buffer
9631 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9634 @kindex W D W (Summary)
9635 @findex gnus-html-show-images
9636 If you're reading an @acronym{HTML} article rendered with
9637 @code{gnus-article-html}, then you can insert any blocked images in
9638 the buffer with this command.
9639 (@code{gnus-html-show-images}).
9645 @node Article Signature
9646 @subsection Article Signature
9648 @cindex article signature
9650 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9651 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9652 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9653 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9654 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9655 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9656 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9657 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9658 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9661 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9662 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9663 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9664 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9665 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9666 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9667 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9668 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9671 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9674 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9675 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9676 signature when displaying articles.
9680 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9683 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9686 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9687 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9689 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9690 in question is not a signature.
9693 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9694 listed above. Here's an example:
9697 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9698 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9701 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9702 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9703 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9704 signature after all.
9707 @node Article Miscellanea
9708 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9712 @kindex A t (Summary)
9713 @findex gnus-article-babel
9714 Translate the article from one language to another
9715 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9721 @section MIME Commands
9722 @cindex MIME decoding
9724 @cindex viewing attachments
9726 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9727 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9733 @kindex K v (Summary)
9734 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9737 @kindex K o (Summary)
9738 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9741 @kindex K O (Summary)
9742 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9743 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9744 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9747 @kindex K r (Summary)
9748 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9751 @kindex K d (Summary)
9752 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9756 @kindex K c (Summary)
9757 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9760 @kindex K e (Summary)
9761 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9764 @kindex K i (Summary)
9765 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9768 @kindex K | (Summary)
9769 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9772 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9777 @kindex K H (Summary)
9778 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
9779 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
9780 Inline images embedded in a message using the @code{cid} scheme, as they
9781 are generally considered to be safe, will be processed properly. The
9782 message header is added to the beginning of every @acronym{HTML} part
9783 unless the prefix argument is given.
9785 Warning: Spammers use links to images (using the @code{http} scheme) in
9786 @acronym{HTML} articles to verify whether you have read the message. As
9787 this command passes the @acronym{HTML} content to the browser without
9788 eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should only use it for mails from
9791 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
9792 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
9794 This command creates temporary files to pass @acronym{HTML} contents
9795 including images if any to the browser, and deletes them when exiting
9796 the group (if you want).
9799 @kindex K b (Summary)
9800 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9801 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9805 @kindex K m (Summary)
9806 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9807 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9808 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9809 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9810 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9813 @kindex X m (Summary)
9814 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9815 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9816 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9817 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9820 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9821 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9822 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9823 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9826 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9827 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9828 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9829 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9832 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9833 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9834 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9835 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9837 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9838 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9839 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9840 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9841 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9842 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9845 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9846 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9847 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9848 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9855 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9856 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9857 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9858 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9861 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9864 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9868 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9869 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9870 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9871 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9872 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9873 default is @code{t}.
9875 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9876 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9879 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9880 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9881 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9882 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9883 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9884 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9885 for encoding in Gnus.
9887 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9888 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9889 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9890 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9891 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9892 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9893 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9894 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9896 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9897 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9898 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9899 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9900 displayed. This variable overrides
9901 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9902 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9905 E.g., to see security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9906 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9907 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9909 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9910 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9911 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9912 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9913 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9915 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9916 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9917 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9918 default value is @code{nil}.
9920 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9921 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9922 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9923 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9924 users to gather information from the article (e.g., add Vcard info to
9925 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e.g., automatically
9926 save all jpegs into some directory).
9928 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9931 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9932 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9934 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9935 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9936 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9937 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9938 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9941 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9942 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9943 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9945 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9946 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9947 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9949 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9950 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9951 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9953 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
9954 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9955 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9956 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9957 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9959 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9960 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9961 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9962 overrides @code{nil} values of
9963 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9964 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9966 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9967 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9968 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9969 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9971 Ready-made functions include@*
9972 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9973 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9974 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9975 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9976 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9977 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9978 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9979 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9980 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9981 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9982 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9983 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9985 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9986 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9988 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9989 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9990 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9993 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9994 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9995 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9996 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
10000 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
10009 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
10010 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
10011 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
10012 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
10013 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
10014 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
10015 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
10017 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
10018 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
10019 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
10020 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
10022 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
10023 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
10024 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
10025 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10026 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10027 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10028 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10029 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10030 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10032 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10033 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10034 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10035 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10036 quoted-printable header encoding.
10038 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10039 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10040 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10044 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10047 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10048 means encode all charsets),
10050 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10051 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10052 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10059 @cindex coding system aliases
10060 @cindex preferred charset
10062 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10063 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10064 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10066 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10068 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10069 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10072 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10073 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10076 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10077 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10079 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10082 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10085 This will almost do the right thing.
10087 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10091 (codepage-setup 1251)
10092 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10096 @node Article Commands
10097 @section Article Commands
10104 @kindex A P (Summary)
10105 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10106 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10107 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10108 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10109 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10110 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10113 @vindex gnus-fetch-partial-articles
10114 @findex gnus-summary-show-complete-article
10115 If @code{<backend>-fetch-partial-articles} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
10116 fetch partial articles, if the backend it fetches them from supports
10117 it. Currently only @code{nnimap} does. If you're looking at a
10118 partial article, and want to see the complete article instead, then
10119 the @kbd{A C} command (@code{gnus-summary-show-complete-article}) will
10125 @node Summary Sorting
10126 @section Summary Sorting
10127 @cindex summary sorting
10129 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10130 can't really see why you'd want that.
10135 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10136 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10137 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10139 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10140 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10141 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10142 Sort by most recent article number
10143 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10146 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10147 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10148 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10151 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10152 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10153 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10156 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10157 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10158 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10161 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10162 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10163 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10165 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10166 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10167 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10168 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10171 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10172 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10173 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10176 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10177 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10178 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10181 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10182 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10183 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10186 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10187 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10188 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10191 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10192 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10193 Sort using the default sorting method
10194 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10197 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10198 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10199 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10200 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10201 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10204 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10207 @node Finding the Parent
10208 @section Finding the Parent
10209 @cindex parent articles
10210 @cindex referring articles
10214 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10215 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10216 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10217 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10218 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10219 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10220 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10221 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10222 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10223 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10225 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10226 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10227 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10228 grandparent and the great-grandparent of the current article. If you say
10229 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the great-grandparent of the current
10232 @item A R (Summary)
10233 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10234 @kindex A R (Summary)
10235 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10236 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10238 @item A T (Summary)
10239 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10240 @kindex A T (Summary)
10241 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10242 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10243 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10244 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10245 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10246 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10247 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10249 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10250 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i.e.,
10251 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10252 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10253 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10254 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10256 @item M-^ (Summary)
10257 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10258 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10260 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10261 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10262 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10263 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10264 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10265 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10267 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10268 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10269 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10272 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10273 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10274 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10275 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10276 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10277 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10280 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10281 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10282 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10285 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10286 then ask Google if that fails:
10289 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10291 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10294 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10295 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10296 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10297 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10298 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10299 group. @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
10301 Fortunately, the special @code{nnregistry} back end is able to locate
10302 articles in any groups, regardless of their back end (@pxref{Registry
10303 Article Refer Method, fetching by @code{Message-ID} using the
10306 @node Alternative Approaches
10307 @section Alternative Approaches
10309 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10310 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
10313 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
10314 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
10318 @node Pick and Read
10319 @subsection Pick and Read
10320 @cindex pick and read
10322 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
10323 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
10324 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
10325 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
10327 @findex gnus-pick-mode
10328 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
10329 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
10330 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
10331 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
10332 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
10334 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10339 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10340 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10341 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10342 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10343 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10344 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10345 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10346 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10349 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10350 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10351 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10352 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10356 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10357 Unpick the thread or article
10358 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10359 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10360 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10361 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10362 the thread or article at that line.
10366 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10367 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10368 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10369 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10370 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10371 will still be visible when you are reading.
10375 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10376 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10377 which is mapped to the same function
10378 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10380 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10383 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10386 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10387 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10389 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10390 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10391 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10393 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10394 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10395 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10396 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10397 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10398 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10399 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10402 @node Binary Groups
10403 @subsection Binary Groups
10404 @cindex binary groups
10406 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10407 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10408 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10409 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10410 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10411 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10412 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10415 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10416 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10417 command, when you have turned on this mode
10418 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10420 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10421 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10425 @section Tree Display
10428 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10429 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10430 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10431 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10432 in the tree buffer.
10434 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10437 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10438 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10439 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10441 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10442 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10443 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10444 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10445 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10447 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10448 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10449 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10450 default is @code{modeline}.
10452 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10453 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10454 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10455 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10456 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10457 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10458 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10464 The name of the poster.
10466 The @code{From} header.
10468 The number of the article.
10470 The opening bracket.
10472 The closing bracket.
10477 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10479 Variables related to the display are:
10482 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10483 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10484 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10485 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10487 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10488 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10489 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10491 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10493 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10494 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10495 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10496 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10500 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10501 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10502 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10503 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10504 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10505 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10506 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10507 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10508 other windows displayed next to it.
10510 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10514 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10515 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10518 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10519 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10520 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10521 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10522 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10523 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10524 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10528 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10531 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10541 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10546 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10547 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10549 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10551 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10557 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10558 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10559 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10562 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10563 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10564 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10565 (gnus-add-configuration
10569 (summary 0.75 point)
10574 @xref{Window Layout}.
10577 @node Mail Group Commands
10578 @section Mail Group Commands
10579 @cindex mail group commands
10581 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10582 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10584 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10585 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10590 @kindex B e (Summary)
10591 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10592 @cindex expiring mail
10593 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10594 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10595 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10596 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10599 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10600 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10601 @cindex expiring mail
10602 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10603 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10604 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10605 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10608 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10609 @cindex deleting mail
10610 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10611 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10612 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10613 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10614 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10617 @kindex B m (Summary)
10619 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10620 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10621 Move the article from one mail group to another
10622 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10623 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10626 @kindex B c (Summary)
10628 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10629 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10630 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10631 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10632 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10635 @kindex B B (Summary)
10636 @cindex crosspost mail
10637 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10638 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10639 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10640 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10641 be properly updated.
10644 @kindex B i (Summary)
10645 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10646 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10647 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10648 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10651 @kindex B I (Summary)
10652 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10653 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10654 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10655 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10658 @kindex B r (Summary)
10659 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10660 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10661 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10662 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10663 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10664 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10665 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10666 (which is the default).
10670 @kindex B w (Summary)
10671 @kindex e (Summary)
10672 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10673 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10674 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10675 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10676 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10677 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10678 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10681 @kindex B q (Summary)
10682 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10683 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10684 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10685 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10688 @kindex B t (Summary)
10689 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10690 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10691 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10694 @kindex B p (Summary)
10695 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10696 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10697 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10698 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10699 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10700 article from your news server (or rather, from
10701 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10702 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10703 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10704 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10705 just not have arrived yet.
10708 @kindex K E (Summary)
10709 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10710 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10711 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10712 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10713 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10717 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10718 @cindex moving articles
10719 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10720 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10721 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10722 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10723 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10724 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10725 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10728 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10729 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10730 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10731 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10735 @node Various Summary Stuff
10736 @section Various Summary Stuff
10739 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10740 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10741 * Summary Generation Commands::
10742 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10746 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10747 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10748 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10749 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10750 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10751 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10753 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10754 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10755 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10758 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10759 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10760 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10762 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10763 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10764 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10765 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10766 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10767 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10770 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10771 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10772 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10773 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10774 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10776 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10777 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10778 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10781 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10782 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10783 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10784 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10785 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10786 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10787 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10788 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10789 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10790 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10792 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10793 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10794 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10795 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10796 list of articles to be selected.
10798 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10799 the list in one particular group:
10802 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10803 (if (string= group "some.group")
10804 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10808 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10809 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10810 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10811 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10812 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10815 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10816 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10817 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10818 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10819 variable will be used instead.
10821 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10822 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10823 buffers. For example:
10826 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10827 '(message-use-followup-to
10828 (gnus-visible-headers .
10829 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10832 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10837 @node Summary Group Information
10838 @subsection Summary Group Information
10843 @kindex H d (Summary)
10844 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10845 Give a brief description of the current group
10846 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10847 rereading the description from the server.
10850 @kindex H h (Summary)
10851 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10852 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10853 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10856 @kindex H i (Summary)
10857 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10858 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10862 @node Searching for Articles
10863 @subsection Searching for Articles
10868 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10869 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10870 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10871 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10874 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10875 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10876 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10877 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10880 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10881 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10882 Repeat the previous search forwards
10883 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10886 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10887 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10888 Repeat the previous search backwards
10889 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10892 @kindex & (Summary)
10893 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10894 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10895 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10896 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10897 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10898 search backward instead.
10900 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10901 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10904 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10905 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10906 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10907 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10910 @node Summary Generation Commands
10911 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10916 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10917 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10918 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10921 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10922 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10923 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10924 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10927 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10928 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10929 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10930 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10933 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10934 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10935 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10936 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10941 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10942 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10948 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10949 @kindex A D (Summary)
10950 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10951 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10952 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10953 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10954 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10955 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10956 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10957 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10960 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
10961 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
10962 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
10967 Select the next article.
10970 Select the next unread article.
10972 @item next-noselect
10973 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
10975 @item next-unread-noselect
10976 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
10979 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
10980 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
10983 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10984 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10985 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10986 several documents into one biiig group
10987 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10988 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10989 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10990 command understands the process/prefix convention
10991 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10994 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10995 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10996 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10997 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10998 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10999 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
11002 @kindex = (Summary)
11003 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
11004 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
11005 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
11008 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
11009 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
11010 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11011 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
11014 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
11015 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
11016 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11017 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11022 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11023 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11024 @cindex summary exit
11025 @cindex exiting groups
11027 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11028 group and return you to the group buffer.
11035 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11036 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11037 @kindex q (Summary)
11038 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11039 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11040 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11041 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11042 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11043 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11044 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11045 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11046 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11047 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11048 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11049 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11053 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11054 @kindex Q (Summary)
11055 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11056 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11057 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11061 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11062 @kindex c (Summary)
11063 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11064 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11065 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11066 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11069 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11070 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11071 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11072 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11075 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11076 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11077 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11078 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11081 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11082 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11083 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11084 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11088 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11089 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11090 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11091 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11092 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11093 all articles, both read and unread.
11097 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11098 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11099 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11100 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11101 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11102 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11103 articles, both read and unread.
11106 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11107 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11108 Exit the group and go to the next group
11109 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11112 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11113 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11114 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11115 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11118 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11119 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11120 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11121 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11122 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11123 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11126 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11127 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11128 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11129 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11131 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11132 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11133 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11134 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11135 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11136 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11137 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11138 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11139 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11140 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11141 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11142 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11144 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11146 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11147 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11148 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.)@: when you exit the
11149 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11150 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11151 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11152 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11153 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11154 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11157 @node Crosspost Handling
11158 @section Crosspost Handling
11162 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11163 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11164 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11165 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11166 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11169 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11170 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11171 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11172 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11173 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11175 @cindex cross-posting
11177 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11178 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11179 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11180 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11181 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11182 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11183 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11184 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11185 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11186 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11187 the cross reference mechanism.
11189 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11190 @cindex overview.fmt
11191 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11192 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11193 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11194 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11195 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11196 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11199 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11200 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11201 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11205 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11208 @node Duplicate Suppression
11209 @section Duplicate Suppression
11211 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11212 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11213 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11214 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11219 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11220 is evil and not very common.
11223 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11224 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11227 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11228 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11231 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11234 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11235 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11237 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11238 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11239 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11240 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11241 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11242 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11243 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11246 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11247 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11248 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11249 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11250 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11251 saw the article in.
11254 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11255 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11256 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11258 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11259 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11260 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11261 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11262 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11263 session are suppressed.
11265 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11266 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11267 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11268 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11270 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11271 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11272 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11273 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11276 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11277 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11278 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11279 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11280 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11281 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11282 to you to figure out, I think.
11287 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11288 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11289 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11294 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11295 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG@. The Lisp interface
11296 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
11297 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
11298 PGG Manual}), and Mailcrypt are also supported.
11301 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL@. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11302 or newer is recommended.
11306 The variables that control security functionality on reading/composing
11310 @item mm-verify-option
11311 @vindex mm-verify-option
11312 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
11313 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
11314 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11316 @item mm-decrypt-option
11317 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
11318 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
11319 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
11320 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11322 @item mm-sign-option
11323 @vindex mm-sign-option
11324 Option of creating signed parts. @code{nil}, use default signing
11325 keys; @code{guided}, ask user to select signing keys from the menu.
11327 @item mm-encrypt-option
11328 @vindex mm-encrypt-option
11329 Option of creating encrypted parts. @code{nil}, use the first
11330 public-key matching the @samp{From:} header as the recipient;
11331 @code{guided}, ask user to select recipient keys from the menu.
11334 @vindex mml1991-use
11335 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11336 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
11337 and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported although
11338 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
11342 @vindex mml2015-use
11343 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11344 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
11345 @code{pgg}, and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported
11346 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
11347 interface in this order.
11351 By default the buttons that display security information are not
11352 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
11353 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
11354 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
11355 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
11356 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
11357 how to customize these variables to always display security
11360 @cindex snarfing keys
11361 @cindex importing PGP keys
11362 @cindex PGP key ring import
11363 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11364 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11365 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11366 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11367 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11368 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11369 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11370 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11371 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11374 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11377 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11378 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11380 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11381 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11382 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11385 @section Mailing List
11386 @cindex mailing list
11389 @kindex A M (summary)
11390 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11391 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11392 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11393 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11396 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11401 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11402 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11403 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11406 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11407 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11408 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11411 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11412 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11413 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11417 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11418 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11419 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11422 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11423 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11424 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11427 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11428 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11429 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11434 @node Article Buffer
11435 @chapter Article Buffer
11436 @cindex article buffer
11438 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11439 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11440 tell Gnus otherwise.
11443 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11444 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11445 * HTML:: Reading @acronym{HTML} messages.
11446 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11447 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11448 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11452 @node Hiding Headers
11453 @section Hiding Headers
11454 @cindex hiding headers
11455 @cindex deleting headers
11457 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11458 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11460 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11461 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11462 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11463 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11464 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11465 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11466 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11467 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11468 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11470 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11474 @item gnus-visible-headers
11475 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11476 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11477 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11478 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11480 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11481 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11484 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11487 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11490 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11491 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11492 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11493 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11494 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11495 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11497 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11498 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11501 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11504 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11507 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11508 variable will have no effect.
11512 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11513 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11514 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11515 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11516 the headers are to be displayed.
11518 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11519 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11522 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11525 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11526 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11528 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11529 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11530 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11531 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11532 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11533 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11534 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11537 These conditions are:
11540 Remove all empty headers.
11542 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11543 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11545 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11546 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11549 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11552 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11553 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11555 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11556 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11558 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11559 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11561 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11564 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11566 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11569 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11572 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11573 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11576 This is also the default value for this variable.
11580 @section Using MIME
11581 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11583 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11584 while people stand around yawning.
11586 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11587 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11589 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11590 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11591 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11593 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11594 @findex gnus-display-mime
11595 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11596 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11597 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11598 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11600 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11601 @acronym{MIME} button:
11604 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11605 @item RET (Article)
11606 @kindex RET (Article)
11607 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11608 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11609 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11610 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11611 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11612 object is displayed inline.
11614 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11615 @item M-RET (Article)
11616 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11618 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11619 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11621 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11623 @kindex t (Article)
11624 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11625 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11627 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11629 @kindex C (Article)
11630 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11631 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11633 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11635 @kindex o (Article)
11636 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11637 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11639 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11640 @item C-o (Article)
11641 @kindex C-o (Article)
11642 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11643 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11644 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11645 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11646 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11647 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11649 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11651 @kindex r (Article)
11652 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11653 external body referring to the file via the message/external-body
11654 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11656 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11658 @kindex d (Article)
11659 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11660 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11661 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11663 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11665 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11667 @kindex c (Article)
11668 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11669 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11670 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11671 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11672 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11673 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11674 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11675 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11677 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11679 @kindex p (Article)
11680 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11681 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11682 @file{.mailcap} file.
11684 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11686 @kindex i (Article)
11687 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11688 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
11689 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11690 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11691 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11692 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11693 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11694 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11695 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11697 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11699 @kindex E (Article)
11700 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11701 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11702 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11704 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11706 @kindex e (Article)
11707 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11708 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11710 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11712 @kindex | (Article)
11713 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11715 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11717 @kindex . (Article)
11718 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11719 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11723 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11724 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11725 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11727 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11728 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11729 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11730 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11731 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11732 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11733 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11734 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11735 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11737 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11739 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11743 @section @acronym{HTML}
11744 @cindex @acronym{HTML}
11746 If you have @code{w3m} installed on your system, Gnus can display
11747 @acronym{HTML} articles in the article buffer. There are many Gnus
11748 add-ons for doing this, using various approaches, but there's one
11749 (sort of) built-in method that's used by default.
11751 For a complete overview, consult @xref{Display Customization,
11752 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. This
11753 section only describes the default method.
11756 @item mm-text-html-renderer
11757 @vindex mm-text-html-renderer
11758 If set to @code{gnus-article-html}, Gnus will use the built-in method,
11759 that's based on @code{w3m}.
11761 @item gnus-blocked-images
11762 @vindex gnus-blocked-images
11763 External images that have @acronym{URL}s that match this regexp won't
11764 be fetched and displayed. For instance, do block all @acronym{URL}s
11765 that have the string ``ads'' in them, do the following:
11768 (setq gnus-blocked-images "ads")
11771 This can also be a function to be evaluated. If so, it will be
11772 called with the group name as the parameter. The default value is
11773 @code{gnus-block-private-groups}, which will return @samp{"."} for
11774 anything that isn't a newsgroup. This means that no external images
11775 will be fetched as a result of reading mail, so that nobody can use
11776 web bugs (and the like) to track whether you've read email.
11778 Also @pxref{Misc Article} for @code{gnus-inhibit-images}.
11780 @item gnus-html-cache-directory
11781 @vindex gnus-html-cache-directory
11782 Gnus will download and cache images according to how
11783 @code{gnus-blocked-images} is set. These images will be stored in
11786 @item gnus-html-cache-size
11787 @vindex gnus-html-cache-size
11788 When @code{gnus-html-cache-size} bytes have been used in that
11789 directory, the oldest files will be deleted. The default is 500MB.
11791 @item gnus-html-frame-width
11792 @vindex gnus-html-frame-width
11793 The width to use when rendering HTML@. The default is 70.
11795 @item gnus-max-image-proportion
11796 @vindex gnus-max-image-proportion
11797 How big pictures displayed are in relation to the window they're in.
11798 A value of 0.7 (the default) means that they are allowed to take up
11799 70% of the width and height of the window. If they are larger than
11800 this, and Emacs supports it, then the images will be rescaled down to
11801 fit these criteria.
11805 To use this, make sure that you have @code{w3m} and @code{curl}
11806 installed. If you have, then Gnus should display @acronym{HTML}
11811 @node Customizing Articles
11812 @section Customizing Articles
11813 @cindex article customization
11815 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11816 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11817 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11818 called automatically when you select the articles.
11820 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11821 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11822 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11823 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11825 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11826 for sensible values.
11830 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11833 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11836 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11839 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11842 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11845 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11849 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11850 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11851 regexps in the list.
11854 A list where the first element is not a string:
11856 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11857 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11858 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11862 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11866 A function: the function is called with no arguments and should return
11867 @code{nil} or non-@code{nil}. The current article is available in the
11868 buffer named by @code{gnus-article-buffer}.
11872 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11873 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11874 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11875 considered to contain just a single part.
11877 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11878 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11879 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11880 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11881 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11882 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11883 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11886 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11887 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11889 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11890 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11891 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11892 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11893 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11894 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11895 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11896 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11897 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11898 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11899 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11900 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11901 @vindex gnus-treat-date
11902 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11903 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11904 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11905 @vindex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
11906 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
11907 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11908 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11909 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11910 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11911 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11912 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11913 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11914 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11915 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11916 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11917 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11918 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11919 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11920 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11921 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11922 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11923 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11924 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11925 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11926 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11927 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11928 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11929 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11932 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11933 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11934 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11935 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11938 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11939 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11941 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11943 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11944 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11945 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11946 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11947 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11948 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11949 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11950 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11951 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11952 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11954 @xref{Article Washing}.
11956 @item gnus-treat-date (head)
11958 This will transform/add date headers according to the
11959 @code{gnus-article-date-headers} variable. This is a list of Date
11960 headers to display. The formats available are:
11964 Universal time, aka GMT, aka ZULU.
11967 The user's local time zone.
11970 A semi-readable English sentence.
11973 The time elapsed since the message was posted.
11975 @item combined-lapsed
11976 Both the original date header and a (shortened) elapsed time.
11979 The original date header.
11982 ISO8601 format, i.e., ``2010-11-23T22:05:21''.
11985 A format done according to the @code{gnus-article-time-format}
11990 @xref{Article Date}.
11992 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11993 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11994 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11998 @item gnus-treat-from-gravatar (head)
11999 @item gnus-treat-mail-gravatar (head)
12003 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
12005 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
12007 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
12008 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
12009 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
12013 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12014 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
12018 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12019 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
12023 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12024 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12025 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12026 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12027 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12028 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12029 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12030 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12031 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12032 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12033 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12034 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12035 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12036 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12037 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12038 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12039 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12040 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12041 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12042 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12044 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12046 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12047 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12048 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12049 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12050 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12051 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12053 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12055 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12056 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12057 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12058 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12059 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12061 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12062 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12063 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12064 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12065 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12066 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12067 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12068 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12070 @xref{Article Header}.
12075 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12076 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12077 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12078 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12079 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12083 @node Article Keymap
12084 @section Article Keymap
12086 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12087 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12088 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12089 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12092 @kindex v (Article)
12093 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12094 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12095 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12097 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12102 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12103 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12104 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12105 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12108 @kindex DEL (Article)
12109 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12110 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12111 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12114 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12115 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12116 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12117 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12118 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12121 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12122 @findex gnus-article-mail
12123 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12124 given a prefix, include the mail.
12127 @kindex s (Article)
12128 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12129 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12130 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12133 @kindex ? (Article)
12134 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12135 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12136 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12139 @kindex TAB (Article)
12140 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12141 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12142 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12145 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12146 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12147 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12150 @kindex R (Article)
12151 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12152 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12153 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12154 only yank the text in the region.
12157 @kindex S W (Article)
12158 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12159 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12160 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12161 active, only yank the text in the region.
12164 @kindex F (Article)
12165 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12166 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12167 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12168 only yank the text in the region.
12175 @section Misc Article
12179 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12180 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12181 @cindex article buffers, several
12182 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12183 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12186 @item gnus-widen-article-window
12187 @cindex gnus-widen-article-window
12188 If non-@code{nil}, selecting the article buffer with the @kbd{h}
12189 command will ``widen'' the article window to take the entire frame.
12191 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12192 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12193 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12194 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12195 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12197 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12198 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12199 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12200 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12201 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12202 the contents of the article buffer.
12204 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12205 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12206 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12208 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12209 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12210 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12211 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12213 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12214 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12215 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12216 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12218 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12219 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12220 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12221 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12222 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12223 with two extensions:
12228 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12229 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12230 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12235 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12238 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12241 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12242 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12243 security status, i.e., good or bad signature.)
12246 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12249 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12252 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12257 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12261 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12263 @item gnus-break-pages
12264 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12265 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12266 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12267 paging will not be done.
12269 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12270 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12271 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12275 @cindex internationalized domain names
12276 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12277 @item gnus-use-idna
12278 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12279 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12280 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12281 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12282 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12283 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12285 @vindex gnus-inhibit-images
12286 @item gnus-inhibit-images
12287 If this is non-@code{nil}, inhibit displaying of images inline in the
12288 article body. It is effective to images that are in articles as
12289 @acronym{MIME} parts, and images in @acronym{HTML} articles rendered
12290 when @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization,
12291 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) is
12292 @code{shr} or @code{gnus-w3m}.
12297 @node Composing Messages
12298 @chapter Composing Messages
12299 @cindex composing messages
12302 @cindex sending mail
12307 @cindex using s/mime
12308 @cindex using smime
12310 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12311 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12312 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12313 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12314 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12315 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12318 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12319 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12320 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12321 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12322 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12323 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12324 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12325 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12326 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12329 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12330 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12336 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12339 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12340 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12341 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12342 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12343 @code{nil} include all headers.
12345 @item gnus-add-to-list
12346 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
12347 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
12348 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
12350 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12351 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12352 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
12353 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
12354 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
12355 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
12356 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
12357 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
12359 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
12360 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
12362 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12363 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12364 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
12365 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
12366 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
12371 @node Posting Server
12372 @section Posting Server
12374 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
12375 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
12377 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
12379 It can be quite complicated.
12381 @vindex gnus-post-method
12382 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
12383 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
12384 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
12385 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
12386 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
12387 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
12388 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
12389 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
12390 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
12393 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
12396 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
12397 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
12398 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
12399 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
12401 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
12402 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
12404 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
12405 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
12408 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
12409 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
12411 @vindex message-send-mail-function
12412 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
12413 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
12414 value suitable for your system.
12415 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
12419 @node POP before SMTP
12420 @section POP before SMTP
12421 @cindex pop before smtp
12422 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
12424 Does your @acronym{ISP} use @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
12425 authentication? This authentication method simply requires you to
12426 contact the @acronym{POP} server before sending email. To do that,
12427 put the following lines in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12430 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
12434 The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function does @acronym{POP}
12435 authentication according to the value of @code{mail-sources} without
12436 fetching mails, just before sending a mail. @xref{Mail Sources}.
12438 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
12439 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
12440 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
12441 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
12442 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
12443 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
12446 (setq mail-source-primary-source
12447 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12448 :password "secret"))
12452 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
12453 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
12456 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12458 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12459 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12460 :password "secret")))
12461 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12465 @node Mail and Post
12466 @section Mail and Post
12468 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12472 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12473 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12474 @cindex mailing lists
12476 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12477 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12478 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12479 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12480 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12481 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12482 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12483 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12484 still a pain, though.
12486 @item gnus-user-agent
12487 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12490 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12491 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12492 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12493 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12494 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12495 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12496 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12500 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12501 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12502 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12505 @findex ispell-message
12507 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12510 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12511 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12514 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12518 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12519 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12521 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12524 Modify to suit your needs.
12526 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12527 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12528 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12531 @node Archived Messages
12532 @section Archived Messages
12533 @cindex archived messages
12534 @cindex sent messages
12536 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12537 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12538 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12539 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}. The
12540 default is "sent.%Y-%m", which gives you one archive group per month.
12542 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12543 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12546 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12547 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12548 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
12549 actually being used it is expanded into:
12552 (nnfolder "archive"
12553 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12554 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12555 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12556 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12560 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
12561 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
12562 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
12563 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
12564 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
12565 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
12566 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12567 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
12568 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
12569 saved method to reflect always the value of
12570 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
12571 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
12572 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
12575 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12576 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12577 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12578 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12581 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12582 '(nnfolder "archive"
12583 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12584 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12585 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12588 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12590 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12591 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12592 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12594 This variable can be used to do the following:
12598 Messages will be saved in that group.
12600 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12601 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12602 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12603 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12604 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12605 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12606 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12607 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12610 @item a list of strings
12611 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12613 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12614 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12617 No message archiving will take place.
12622 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12624 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12627 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12629 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12632 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12634 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12635 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12636 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12637 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12640 More complex stuff:
12642 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12643 '((if (message-news-p)
12648 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12649 messages in one file per month:
12652 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12653 '((if (message-news-p)
12655 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12658 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12659 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12660 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12661 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12662 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12663 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12664 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12665 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12666 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12667 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12670 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12671 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12672 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12674 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12675 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12676 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12677 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12678 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12679 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12680 changed in the future.
12682 @item gnus-gcc-self-resent-messages
12683 @vindex gnus-gcc-self-resent-messages
12684 Like the @code{gcc-self} group parameter, applied only for unmodified
12685 messages that @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} (@pxref{Summary Mail
12686 Commands}) resends. Non-@code{nil} value of this variable takes
12687 precedence over any existing @code{Gcc} header.
12689 If this is @code{none}, no @code{Gcc} copy will be made. If this is
12690 @code{t}, messages resent will be @code{Gcc} copied to the current
12691 group. If this is a string, it specifies a group to which resent
12692 messages will be @code{Gcc} copied. If this is @code{nil}, @code{Gcc}
12693 will be done according to existing @code{Gcc} header(s), if any. If
12694 this is @code{no-gcc-self}, that is the default, resent messages will be
12695 @code{Gcc} copied to groups that existing @code{Gcc} header specifies,
12696 except for the current group.
12698 @item gnus-gcc-pre-body-encode-hook
12699 @vindex gnus-gcc-pre-body-encode-hook
12700 @itemx gnus-gcc-post-body-encode-hook
12701 @vindex gnus-gcc-post-body-encode-hook
12703 These hooks are run before/after encoding the message body of the Gcc
12704 copy of a sent message. The current buffer (when the hook is run)
12705 contains the message including the message header. Changes made to
12706 the message will only affect the Gcc copy, but not the original
12707 message. You can use these hooks to edit the copy (and influence
12708 subsequent transformations), e.g., remove MML secure tags
12709 (@pxref{Signing and encrypting}).
12714 @node Posting Styles
12715 @section Posting Styles
12716 @cindex posting styles
12719 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12721 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12722 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12723 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12726 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12727 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12728 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12729 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12730 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12735 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12736 (organization "What me?"))
12738 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12739 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12740 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12743 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12744 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12745 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12746 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12747 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12748 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12749 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12750 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12752 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12753 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12754 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12755 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12756 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12757 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12758 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12759 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12760 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12761 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12762 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12763 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12764 said to @dfn{match}.
12766 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12767 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12768 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12769 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12770 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12771 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12772 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12773 name can be one of:
12776 @item @code{signature}
12777 @item @code{signature-file}
12778 @item @code{x-face-file}
12779 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12780 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12784 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12785 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12787 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12788 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12789 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12790 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12791 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12793 The attribute value can be a string, a function with zero arguments
12794 (the return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used)
12795 or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be
12796 used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12797 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current
12798 article are available through the @code{message-reply-headers}
12799 variable, which is a vector of the following headers: number subject
12800 from date id references chars lines xref extra.
12802 In the case of a string value, if the @code{match} is a regular
12803 expression, a @samp{gnus-match-substitute-replacement} is proceed on
12804 the value to replace the positional parameters @samp{\@var{n}} by the
12805 corresponding parenthetical matches (see @xref{Replacing Match,,
12806 Replacing the Text that Matched, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.)
12808 @vindex message-reply-headers
12810 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12811 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12812 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12814 @findex message-mail-p
12815 @findex message-news-p
12817 So here's a new example:
12820 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12822 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12824 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12825 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12826 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12828 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12829 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12830 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12831 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12832 (signature my-news-signature))
12833 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12834 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12835 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12836 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12837 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12838 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12839 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12840 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12841 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12842 ("X-Message-SMTP-Method" "smtp smtp.example.org 587")
12843 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12845 (From (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
12846 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12848 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12851 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12852 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12853 if you fill many roles.
12854 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12855 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12857 Of particular interest in the ``work-mail'' style is the
12858 @samp{X-Message-SMTP-Method} header. It specifies how to send the
12859 outgoing email. You may want to sent certain emails through certain
12860 @acronym{SMTP} servers due to company policies, for instance.
12861 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Message Variables, message, Message Manual}.
12868 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12869 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12870 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12871 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12872 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12874 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12875 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12876 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12877 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12878 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12882 @vindex nndraft-directory
12883 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12884 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12885 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12886 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12887 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12888 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12890 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12891 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12892 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12893 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12894 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12895 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12896 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12897 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12898 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12900 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12901 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12902 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12903 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12904 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12905 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12906 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12907 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12908 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12909 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12910 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12911 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12912 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12913 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12915 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12916 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12917 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12919 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12920 @kindex D e (Draft)
12921 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12922 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12923 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12925 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12928 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12929 @kindex D s (Draft)
12930 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12931 @kindex D S (Draft)
12932 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12933 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12934 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12935 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12936 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12939 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12940 @kindex D t (Draft)
12941 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12942 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12943 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12945 Finally, if you want to delete a draft, use the normal @kbd{B DEL}
12946 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12949 @node Rejected Articles
12950 @section Rejected Articles
12951 @cindex rejected articles
12953 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12954 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12955 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12956 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12958 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12959 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12960 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12961 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12962 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12964 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12965 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12966 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12968 @node Signing and encrypting
12969 @section Signing and encrypting
12971 @cindex using s/mime
12972 @cindex using smime
12974 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12975 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12976 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12977 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12979 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12980 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12981 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12982 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12983 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12984 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12985 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12986 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12987 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12988 automatically encrypted messages.
12990 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12991 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12992 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12997 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12998 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
13000 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13003 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
13004 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13006 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13009 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
13010 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13012 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13015 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
13016 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
13018 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13021 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
13022 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
13024 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13027 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
13028 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
13030 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13033 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
13034 @findex mml-unsecure-message
13035 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
13039 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
13041 @node Select Methods
13042 @chapter Select Methods
13043 @cindex foreign groups
13044 @cindex select methods
13046 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
13047 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
13048 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
13049 personal mail group.
13051 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
13052 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
13053 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g., @code{nntp},
13054 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
13055 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13056 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13058 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13059 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13061 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13064 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13065 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13066 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13067 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13068 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13070 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13073 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13074 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13075 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
13076 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13077 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13078 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
13079 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13080 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13081 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13085 @node Server Buffer
13086 @section Server Buffer
13088 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13089 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13090 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13091 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13092 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13093 back end represents a virtual server.
13095 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13096 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13097 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13098 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13100 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13101 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13102 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13103 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13104 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13105 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13106 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13108 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13109 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13112 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13113 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13114 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13115 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13116 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13117 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13118 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13121 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13122 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13125 @node Server Buffer Format
13126 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13127 @cindex server buffer format
13129 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13130 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13131 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13132 variable, with some simple extensions:
13137 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13140 The name of this server.
13143 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13146 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13149 Whether this server is agentized.
13152 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13153 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13154 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13155 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13165 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13168 @node Server Commands
13169 @subsection Server Commands
13170 @cindex server commands
13176 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13177 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13178 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13182 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13183 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13187 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13188 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13192 @findex gnus-server-show-server
13193 Show the definition of a server (@code{gnus-server-show-server}).
13196 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13197 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13198 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13202 @findex gnus-server-exit
13203 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13207 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13208 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13212 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13213 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13217 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13218 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13222 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13223 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13227 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13228 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13229 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13234 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13235 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13236 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13237 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13241 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13243 Compact all groups in the server under point
13244 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13245 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13246 hence getting a correct total article count.
13250 Some more commands for closing, disabling, and re-opening servers are
13251 listed in @ref{Unavailable Servers}.
13254 @node Example Methods
13255 @subsection Example Methods
13257 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13260 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13263 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13269 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13270 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13273 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13274 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13276 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13277 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13281 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13284 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13285 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13287 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13288 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13289 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13293 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13296 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13299 Here's the method for a public spool:
13303 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13304 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13310 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13311 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13312 on the firewall machine and connect with
13313 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13314 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13315 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13316 should probably look something like this:
13320 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13321 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13322 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13325 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13326 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13327 configuration to the example above:
13330 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13333 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13334 an indirect connection:
13337 (setq gnus-select-method
13339 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13340 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13341 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13342 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13343 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13344 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13347 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13348 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13350 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13351 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13352 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13356 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13357 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13358 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13362 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13363 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13365 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13366 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
13368 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
13369 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
13370 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
13372 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
13374 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
13375 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
13376 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
13377 will contain the following:
13387 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
13388 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
13391 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
13392 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
13393 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
13396 @node Server Variables
13397 @subsection Server Variables
13398 @cindex server variables
13399 @cindex server parameters
13401 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
13402 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
13403 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
13404 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
13405 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
13407 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
13408 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
13409 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
13410 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
13411 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
13412 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
13413 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
13414 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
13415 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
13419 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
13420 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
13421 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
13424 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
13426 @node Servers and Methods
13427 @subsection Servers and Methods
13429 Wherever you would normally use a select method
13430 (e.g., @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
13431 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
13432 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
13436 @node Unavailable Servers
13437 @subsection Unavailable Servers
13439 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
13440 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
13441 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
13442 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
13443 actually the case or not.
13445 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
13446 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
13447 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
13448 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
13449 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
13450 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
13451 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
13452 it will regard that server as ``down''.
13454 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
13455 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
13457 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
13458 with the following commands:
13464 @findex gnus-server-open-server
13465 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
13466 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
13470 @findex gnus-server-close-server
13471 Close the connection (if any) to the server
13472 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
13476 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
13477 Mark the current server as unreachable
13478 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
13481 @kindex M-o (Server)
13482 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
13483 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
13484 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
13487 @kindex M-c (Server)
13488 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
13489 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
13490 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
13494 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
13495 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
13496 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
13500 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13501 Copy a server and give it a new name
13502 (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}). This can be useful if you have a
13503 complex method definition, and want to use the same definition towards
13504 a different (physical) server.
13508 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
13509 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13515 @section Getting News
13516 @cindex reading news
13517 @cindex news back ends
13519 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13520 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13521 or it can read from a local spool.
13524 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13525 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13533 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13534 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13535 server as the, uhm, address.
13537 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13538 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13539 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13540 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13542 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13543 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13544 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13546 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13551 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13552 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13553 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13555 @cindex authentication
13556 @cindex nntp authentication
13557 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13558 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13559 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13560 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13561 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13562 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13563 present in this hook.
13565 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13566 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13567 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13568 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13569 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13570 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13571 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13572 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13573 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13574 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13575 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13576 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13580 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13583 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13585 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13586 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13587 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13588 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13589 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13590 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13591 @samp{force} is explained below.
13595 Here's an example file:
13598 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13599 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13602 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13603 have to be first, for instance.
13605 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13606 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13607 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13608 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13609 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13610 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13611 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13613 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13614 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13620 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13621 previously mentioned.
13623 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13625 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13626 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13627 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13628 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13629 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13632 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13633 '(("innd" (ding))))
13636 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13638 The default value is
13641 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13642 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13643 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13646 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13647 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13649 @item nntp-maximum-request
13650 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13651 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13652 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13653 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13654 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13655 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13656 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13658 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13659 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13660 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13661 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13662 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13663 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13664 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13665 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13666 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13667 no timeouts are done.
13669 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13670 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13671 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13672 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13675 @item nntp-xover-commands
13676 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13677 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13679 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13680 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13684 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13685 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13686 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13687 if you have read articles 2--5000 in the group, and only want to read
13688 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13689 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13690 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13691 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13692 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13693 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13694 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13696 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13697 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13698 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
13699 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
13700 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
13701 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
13702 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
13703 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
13704 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
13705 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
13706 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
13707 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
13708 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
13709 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
13710 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
13711 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
13712 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
13715 (setq gnus-select-method
13717 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
13718 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
13722 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
13724 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13725 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13726 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13728 @item nntp-record-commands
13729 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13730 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13731 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13732 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13733 that doesn't seem to work.
13735 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13736 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13737 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13738 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13739 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13740 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13741 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13742 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13744 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13745 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13746 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13747 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13748 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13749 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13750 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13751 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13752 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13754 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13755 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13756 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13757 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13758 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13759 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13760 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13762 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13763 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13764 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13765 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13766 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13767 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13768 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13771 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13774 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID@. This works for
13775 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13777 @item nntp-server-list-active-group
13778 If @code{nil}, then always use @samp{GROUP} instead of @samp{LIST
13779 ACTIVE}. This is usually slower, but on misconfigured servers that
13780 don't update their active files often, this can help.
13786 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13787 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13788 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13792 @node Direct Functions
13793 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13794 @cindex direct connection functions
13796 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13797 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13798 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13799 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13802 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13803 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13804 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13805 remote system. If both Emacs and the server supports it, the
13806 connection will be upgraded to an encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS}
13807 connection automatically.
13810 The same as the above, but don't do automatic @acronym{STARTTLS} upgrades.
13812 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13813 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13814 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13815 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GnuTLS}
13816 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13819 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13820 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13822 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13823 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13824 (nntp-port-number 563)
13825 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13828 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13829 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13830 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13831 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL}
13833 @c Defunct URL, ancient package, so don't mention it.
13834 or @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay}
13836 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13839 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13840 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13842 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13843 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13844 (nntp-port-number 563)
13845 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13848 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
13849 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
13850 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
13851 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
13852 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13853 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13854 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13855 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13859 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13860 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13861 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13864 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13865 session, which is not a good idea.
13867 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13868 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13869 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
13870 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
13871 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
13872 not available. The previous example would turn into:
13876 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13877 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13878 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
13879 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
13884 @node Indirect Functions
13885 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13886 @cindex indirect connection functions
13888 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13889 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13890 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13891 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13892 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13893 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13896 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13897 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13898 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
13899 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13900 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13902 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13905 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13906 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13907 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13908 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13910 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13911 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13912 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13913 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13914 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13915 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
13918 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13919 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13920 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
13921 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13922 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
13923 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
13925 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13928 @item nntp-telnet-command
13929 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13930 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13931 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
13933 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13934 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13935 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13936 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
13938 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13939 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13940 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13941 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13943 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13944 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13945 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13946 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
13947 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13948 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13949 host. The default is @code{nil}.
13952 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13953 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13955 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13956 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13957 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13958 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13960 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13963 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13964 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13965 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13968 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13969 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13970 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13971 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13973 @item nntp-via-user-password
13974 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13975 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13977 @item nntp-via-envuser
13978 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13979 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13980 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13981 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13983 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13984 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13985 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13986 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13990 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13991 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13995 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
14000 @item nntp-via-user-name
14001 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
14002 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
14004 @item nntp-via-address
14005 @vindex nntp-via-address
14006 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
14011 @node Common Variables
14012 @subsubsection Common Variables
14014 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
14015 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
14016 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
14017 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
14018 variables individually).
14022 @item nntp-pre-command
14023 @vindex nntp-pre-command
14024 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
14025 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
14026 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
14027 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
14030 @vindex nntp-address
14031 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14033 @item nntp-port-number
14034 @vindex nntp-port-number
14035 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14036 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
14037 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
14038 than named ports (i.e., use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
14039 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
14040 not work with named ports.
14042 @item nntp-end-of-line
14043 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
14044 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
14045 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
14046 using a non native telnet connection function.
14048 @item nntp-netcat-command
14049 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
14050 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
14051 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
14052 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14055 @item nntp-netcat-switches
14056 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
14057 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14063 @subsection News Spool
14067 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14068 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14069 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14072 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14073 anything else) as the address.
14075 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14076 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14077 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14078 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14082 @item nnspool-inews-program
14083 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14084 Program used to post an article.
14086 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14087 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14088 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14090 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14091 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14092 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14093 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14095 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14096 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14097 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14098 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14100 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14101 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14102 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14104 @item nnspool-active-file
14105 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14106 The name of the active file.
14108 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14109 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14110 The name of the group descriptions file.
14112 @item nnspool-history-file
14113 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14114 The name of the news history file.
14116 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14117 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14118 The name of the active date file.
14120 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14121 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14122 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14125 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14126 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14128 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14129 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14130 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14137 @section Using IMAP
14140 The most popular mail backend is probably @code{nnimap}, which
14141 provides access to @acronym{IMAP} servers. @acronym{IMAP} servers
14142 store mail remotely, so the client doesn't store anything locally.
14143 This means that it's a convenient choice when you're reading your mail
14144 from different locations, or with different user agents.
14147 * Connecting to an IMAP Server:: Getting started with @acronym{IMAP}.
14148 * Customizing the IMAP Connection:: Variables for @acronym{IMAP} connection.
14149 * Client-Side IMAP Splitting:: Put mail in the correct mail box.
14153 @node Connecting to an IMAP Server
14154 @subsection Connecting to an IMAP Server
14156 Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} can be very easy. Type @kbd{B} in the
14157 group buffer, or (if your primary interest is reading email), say
14161 (setq gnus-select-method
14162 '(nnimap "imap.gmail.com"))
14165 You'll be prompted for a user name and password. If you grow tired of
14166 that, then add the following to your @file{~/.authinfo} file:
14169 machine imap.gmail.com login <username> password <password> port imap
14172 That should basically be it for most users.
14175 @node Customizing the IMAP Connection
14176 @subsection Customizing the IMAP Connection
14178 Here's an example method that's more complex:
14181 (nnimap "imap.gmail.com"
14182 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14183 (nnimap-split-methods default)
14185 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14189 @item nnimap-address
14190 The address of the server, like @samp{imap.gmail.com}.
14192 @item nnimap-server-port
14193 If the server uses a non-standard port, that can be specified here. A
14194 typical port would be @code{"imap"} or @code{"imaps"}.
14196 @item nnimap-stream
14197 How @code{nnimap} should connect to the server. Possible values are:
14201 This is the default, and this first tries the @code{ssl} setting, and
14202 then tries the @code{network} setting.
14205 This uses standard @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14208 Non-encrypted and unsafe straight socket connection, but will upgrade
14209 to encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} if both Emacs and the server
14213 Encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} over the normal @acronym{IMAP} port.
14216 If you need to tunnel via other systems to connect to the server, you
14217 can use this option, and customize @code{nnimap-shell-program} to be
14222 @item nnimap-authenticator
14223 Some @acronym{IMAP} servers allow anonymous logins. In that case,
14224 this should be set to @code{anonymous}. If this variable isn't set,
14225 the normal login methods will be used. If you wish to specify a
14226 specific login method to be used, you can set this variable to either
14227 @code{login} (the traditional @acronym{IMAP} login method),
14228 @code{plain} or @code{cram-md5}.
14230 @item nnimap-expunge
14231 If non-@code{nil}, expunge articles after deleting them. This is always done
14232 if the server supports UID EXPUNGE, but it's not done by default on
14233 servers that doesn't support that command.
14235 @item nnimap-streaming
14236 Virtually all @acronym{IMAP} server support fast streaming of data.
14237 If you have problems connecting to the server, try setting this to
14240 @item nnimap-fetch-partial-articles
14241 If non-@code{nil}, fetch partial articles from the server. If set to
14242 a string, then it's interpreted as a regexp, and parts that have
14243 matching types will be fetched. For instance, @samp{"text/"} will
14244 fetch all textual parts, while leaving the rest on the server.
14246 @item nnimap-record-commands
14247 If non-@code{nil}, record all @acronym{IMAP} commands in the
14248 @samp{"*imap log*"} buffer.
14253 @node Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14254 @subsection Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14256 Many people prefer to do the sorting/splitting of mail into their mail
14257 boxes on the @acronym{IMAP} server. That way they don't have to
14258 download the mail they're not all that interested in.
14260 If you do want to do client-side mail splitting, then the following
14261 variables are relevant:
14265 This is the @acronym{IMAP} mail box that will be scanned for new
14266 mail. This can also be a list of mail box names.
14268 @item nnimap-split-methods
14269 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-methods} (@pxref{Splitting
14270 Mail}), except the symbol @code{default}, which means that it should
14271 use the value of the @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable.
14273 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14274 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14276 @item nnimap-unsplittable-articles
14277 List of flag symbols to ignore when doing splitting. That is,
14278 articles that have these flags won't be considered when splitting.
14279 The default is @samp{(%Deleted %Seen)}.
14283 Here's a complete example @code{nnimap} backend with a client-side
14284 ``fancy'' splitting method:
14287 (nnimap "imap.example.com"
14288 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14289 (nnimap-split-methods
14290 (| ("MailScanner-SpamCheck" "spam" "spam.detected")
14291 (to "foo@@bar.com" "foo")
14297 @section Getting Mail
14298 @cindex reading mail
14301 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD@? But of
14305 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14306 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14307 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14308 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14309 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14310 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14311 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14312 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14313 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14314 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14315 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14316 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14317 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14321 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14322 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14324 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14325 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14326 of a culture shock.
14328 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14329 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14331 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14332 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14333 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14334 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14336 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14338 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14339 deleted? How awful!
14341 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14342 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14343 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14344 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14347 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14348 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14349 they want to treat a message.
14351 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14352 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14353 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14354 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14355 archived somewhere else.
14357 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14358 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14359 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14360 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14361 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
14363 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
14364 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
14365 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
14367 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
14368 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
14371 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
14372 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
14373 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
14374 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
14375 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
14377 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
14378 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
14379 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
14380 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
14381 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
14382 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
14386 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
14387 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
14389 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
14390 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
14391 and things will happen automatically.
14393 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
14394 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14397 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14400 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
14401 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
14402 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
14403 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
14404 like any other group.
14406 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
14409 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14410 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14411 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14415 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
14416 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
14417 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
14420 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
14421 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
14422 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
14425 @node Splitting Mail
14426 @subsection Splitting Mail
14427 @cindex splitting mail
14428 @cindex mail splitting
14429 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
14431 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
14432 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
14433 to be split into groups.
14436 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14437 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14438 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14439 ("mail.other" "")))
14442 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
14443 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
14444 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
14445 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
14446 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
14447 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
14448 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
14451 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
14455 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
14456 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14458 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14459 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
14460 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
14461 mail belongs in that group.
14463 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
14464 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
14465 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
14466 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
14467 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
14468 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
14469 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
14470 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
14471 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
14472 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
14474 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
14475 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
14476 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
14477 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
14478 thinks should carry this mail message.
14480 This variable can also be a fancy split method. For the syntax,
14481 see @ref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14483 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
14484 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
14485 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
14486 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
14488 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
14489 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
14490 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
14491 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
14492 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
14494 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
14497 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
14498 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
14499 links. If that's the case for you, set
14500 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
14501 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
14503 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
14504 @findex nnmail-split-history
14505 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
14506 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
14507 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
14508 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
14511 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
14512 Header lines longer than the value of
14513 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
14516 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
14517 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
14518 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
14519 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
14520 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
14521 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
14522 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
14523 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
14524 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
14525 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
14526 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
14527 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
14529 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14530 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
14531 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
14532 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
14533 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
14534 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
14535 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
14536 other kinds of entries.)
14538 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
14539 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
14540 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
14541 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
14542 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
14543 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
14544 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
14545 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
14546 month's rent money.
14550 @subsection Mail Sources
14552 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
14553 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
14554 maildir, for instance.
14557 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
14558 * Mail Source Functions::
14559 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
14560 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
14564 @node Mail Source Specifiers
14565 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
14567 @cindex mail server
14570 @cindex mail source
14572 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
14573 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
14578 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
14581 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
14582 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
14583 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
14586 The @code{mail-sources} is global for all mail groups. You can specify
14587 an additional mail source for a particular group by including the
14588 @code{group} mail specifier in @code{mail-sources}, and setting a
14589 @code{mail-source} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) specifying
14590 a single mail source. When this is used, @code{mail-sources} is
14591 typically just @code{(group)}; the @code{mail-source} parameter for a
14592 group might look like this:
14595 (mail-source . (file :path "home/user/spools/foo.spool"))
14598 This means that the group's (and only this group's) messages will be
14599 fetched from the spool file @samp{/user/spools/foo.spool}.
14601 The following mail source types are available:
14605 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
14611 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
14612 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
14613 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
14617 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14620 An example file mail source:
14623 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
14626 Or using the default file name:
14632 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
14633 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
14634 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
14635 mail spool while moving the mail.
14637 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
14641 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
14644 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
14648 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
14651 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
14653 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
14656 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
14657 file you want to use.
14661 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
14662 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
14663 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
14664 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
14665 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
14666 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
14667 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
14668 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
14669 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
14670 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
14672 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14673 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
14674 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
14675 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
14681 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
14685 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
14689 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
14690 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
14691 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
14692 predicate are considered.
14696 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14700 An example directory mail source:
14703 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
14708 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14714 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
14715 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14718 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (e.g.,
14719 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (e.g., @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
14720 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
14721 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
14722 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14725 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14729 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14730 the user is prompted.
14733 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14734 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14737 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14740 The valid format specifier characters are:
14744 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14745 included in this string.
14748 The name of the server.
14751 The port number of the server.
14754 The user name to use.
14757 The password to use.
14760 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14761 corresponding keywords.
14764 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14765 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14767 One popular way to use this is to set up an SSH tunnel to access the
14768 @acronym{POP} server. Here's an example:
14771 (pop :server "127.0.0.1"
14776 "nohup ssh -f -L 1234:pop.server:110 remote.host sleep 3600 &")
14780 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14781 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14784 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14785 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14786 mail should be moved to.
14788 @item :authentication
14789 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14790 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14794 Non-@code{nil} if the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14795 after fetching. Only the built-in @code{pop3-movemail} program (the
14796 default) supports this keyword.
14798 If this is a number, leave mails on the server for this many days since
14799 you first checked new mails. In that case, mails once fetched will
14800 never be fetched again by the @acronym{UIDL} control. If this is
14801 @code{nil} (the default), mails will be deleted on the server right
14802 after fetching. If this is neither @code{nil} nor a number, all mails
14803 will be left on the server, and you will end up getting the same mails
14806 @vindex pop3-uidl-file
14807 The @code{pop3-uidl-file} variable specifies the file to which the
14808 @acronym{UIDL} data are locally stored. The default value is
14809 @file{~/.pop3-uidl}.
14811 Note that @acronym{POP} servers maintain no state information between
14812 sessions, so what the client believes is there and what is actually
14813 there may not match up. If they do not, then you may get duplicate
14814 mails or the whole thing can fall apart and leave you with a corrupt
14819 @findex pop3-movemail
14820 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14821 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14822 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
14824 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14826 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14827 name, and default fetcher:
14833 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14836 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14837 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14840 Leave mails on the server for 14 days:
14843 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14844 :user "user-name" :password "secret"
14848 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14851 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14855 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14856 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14857 contains exactly one mail.
14863 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14864 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14867 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14868 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14870 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14871 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14872 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14875 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14876 from locking problems).
14880 Two example maildir mail sources:
14883 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14884 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14888 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14893 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14894 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (i.e.,
14895 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14896 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14897 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{Using IMAP}, for more information.
14903 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14904 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14907 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14908 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14911 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14915 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14919 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14920 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14921 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14922 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14924 @item :authentication
14925 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14926 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14927 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14928 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14931 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14932 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14933 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14939 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
14940 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
14941 specifier characters are:
14945 The name of the server.
14948 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14951 The port number of the server.
14954 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14955 corresponding keywords.
14958 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14959 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
14962 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14963 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14964 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14965 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14966 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14967 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14970 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14971 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14972 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14973 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14976 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14977 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14981 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14984 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14986 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14990 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
14991 @xref{Group Parameters}.
14996 @item Common Keywords
14997 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
15003 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
15004 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
15009 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
15014 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
15015 useful when you use local mail and news.
15020 @node Mail Source Functions
15021 @subsubsection Function Interface
15023 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
15024 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
15025 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
15026 consider the following mail-source setting:
15029 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
15030 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
15033 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
15034 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
15035 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
15036 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
15037 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
15039 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
15042 @node Mail Source Customization
15043 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
15045 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
15046 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
15050 @item mail-source-crash-box
15051 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
15052 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
15053 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
15056 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
15057 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
15058 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
15059 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
15060 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
15061 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15062 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15063 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15064 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15065 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15067 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15068 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15069 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15070 files. This variable only applies when
15071 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15073 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15074 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15075 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15077 @item mail-source-directory
15078 @vindex mail-source-directory
15079 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15080 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15081 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15082 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15084 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15085 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15086 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15087 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15088 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15089 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15092 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15093 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15094 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is @code{#o600}.
15096 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15097 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15098 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15099 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15104 @node Fetching Mail
15105 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15107 @vindex mail-sources
15108 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15109 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15110 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15112 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15113 fetch mail by themselves.
15115 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15116 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15121 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15122 :password "secret")))
15125 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15129 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15130 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15133 :password "secret")))
15137 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15138 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15139 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15140 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15141 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15142 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15146 @node Mail Back End Variables
15147 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15149 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15153 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15154 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15155 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15156 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15158 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15159 @item nnmail-split-hook
15160 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15161 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15162 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15163 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15164 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15165 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15166 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15167 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15168 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15171 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15172 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15173 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15174 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15175 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15176 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15177 starting to handle the new mail) and
15178 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15179 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15180 default file modes the new mail files get:
15183 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15184 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes #o700)))
15186 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15187 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes #o775)))
15190 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15191 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15192 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15193 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15194 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15195 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15196 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15198 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15199 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15200 @findex delete-file
15201 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15203 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15204 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15205 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15206 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15207 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15209 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15210 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15211 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15212 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15213 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15215 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15216 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15217 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15222 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15223 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15224 @cindex mail splitting
15225 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15227 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15228 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15229 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15230 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15231 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15232 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15234 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15237 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15238 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15239 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15240 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15242 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15243 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15244 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15245 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15246 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15247 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15248 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15249 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15250 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15251 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15252 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15253 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15254 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15255 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15256 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15257 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15258 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15262 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15263 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15264 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15269 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15270 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15272 @c Don't fold this line.
15273 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15274 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15275 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15276 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15279 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15280 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15281 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15282 @var{split} is processed.
15284 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15285 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15286 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15287 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15289 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15290 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15291 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15292 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15293 stored in one or more groups.
15295 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15296 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15297 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15300 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15301 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15303 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15304 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15305 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15306 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15309 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15310 body of the messages:
15313 (defun split-on-body ()
15317 (goto-char (point-min))
15318 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15322 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15323 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15324 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15325 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15326 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15327 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15328 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
15330 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15331 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15332 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15333 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15334 should return a split.
15337 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15341 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15343 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15344 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15345 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15346 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15350 (any "joe" "joemail")
15354 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15355 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15356 of the following three ways:
15360 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15361 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15362 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15363 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15364 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15367 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15370 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15371 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15372 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15373 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15374 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15377 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15378 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15379 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15380 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15381 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15382 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15383 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15386 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15387 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15388 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15389 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15390 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15391 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15392 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
15396 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
15398 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
15399 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
15401 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
15404 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
15405 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
15406 when all this splitting is performed.
15408 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
15409 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
15410 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
15413 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
15416 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
15417 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
15419 If the string contains the element @samp{\\&}, then the previously
15420 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
15421 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
15422 groupings 1 through 9.
15424 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
15425 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
15426 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
15427 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
15428 groups when users send to an address using different case
15429 (i.e., mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
15432 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
15433 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
15434 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
15435 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
15436 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
15437 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
15438 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
15439 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
15440 it once per thread.
15442 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
15443 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
15444 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
15445 using the colon feature, like so:
15447 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
15448 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
15450 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
15451 ;; @r{other splits go here}
15455 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
15456 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
15457 in the file specified by the variable
15458 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
15459 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
15460 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
15461 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
15462 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
15463 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
15464 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
15465 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
15466 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
15467 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
15468 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
15469 300 kBytes in size.)
15470 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15471 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
15472 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
15473 messages goes into the new group.
15475 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
15476 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
15477 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
15478 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
15479 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
15480 ``outgoing'' group.
15483 @node Group Mail Splitting
15484 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
15485 @cindex mail splitting
15486 @cindex group mail splitting
15488 @findex gnus-group-split
15489 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
15490 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
15491 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
15492 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
15493 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
15494 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
15495 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
15496 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
15498 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
15499 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
15500 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
15501 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
15503 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
15504 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
15505 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
15506 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
15507 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
15508 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
15509 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
15511 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
15512 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
15513 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
15514 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
15515 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
15516 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
15517 @code{gnus-group-split}.
15519 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
15520 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
15521 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
15522 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
15523 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
15524 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
15525 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
15526 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
15527 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
15528 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
15529 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
15530 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
15531 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
15533 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
15538 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
15539 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
15541 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
15542 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
15543 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
15544 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
15546 ((split-spec . catch-all))
15549 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
15550 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
15551 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
15554 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
15555 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
15556 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
15560 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
15561 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
15562 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15566 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
15569 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
15570 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
15571 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
15572 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
15573 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
15574 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
15575 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
15576 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
15577 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
15579 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
15580 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
15581 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
15582 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
15583 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
15584 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
15585 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
15586 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
15587 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
15589 @findex gnus-group-split-update
15590 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
15591 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
15592 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
15593 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
15594 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
15597 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
15600 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
15601 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
15602 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
15603 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
15604 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
15607 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
15608 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
15609 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
15610 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
15612 @node Incorporating Old Mail
15613 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
15614 @cindex incorporating old mail
15615 @cindex import old mail
15617 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
15618 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
15619 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
15622 Doing so can be quite easy.
15624 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
15625 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
15626 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
15627 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
15628 your @code{nnml} groups.
15634 Go to the group buffer.
15637 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
15638 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15641 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
15644 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
15645 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15648 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
15649 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
15652 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
15653 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
15654 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
15655 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
15656 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
15658 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
15659 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
15660 using the new mail back end.
15663 @node Expiring Mail
15664 @subsection Expiring Mail
15665 @cindex article expiry
15666 @cindex expiring mail
15668 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
15669 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
15670 different approach to mail reading.
15672 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
15673 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
15674 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
15675 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
15676 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
15677 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
15680 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
15681 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
15682 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
15683 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
15684 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
15685 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
15686 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
15687 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
15688 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
15690 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-marks
15691 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
15692 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
15693 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
15694 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
15695 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
15696 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
15697 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} (and so on) are considered
15698 expirable. @code{gnus-auto-expirable-marks} has the full list of
15701 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
15702 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
15703 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
15704 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
15705 into its own group.)
15707 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
15708 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
15709 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
15710 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15711 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15712 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15713 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15714 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15717 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15718 Groups that match the regular expression
15719 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15720 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15721 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15723 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15724 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15725 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15726 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15727 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15729 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15731 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15732 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15733 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15736 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15737 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15738 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15739 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15740 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15742 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15743 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15746 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15747 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15750 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15751 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15753 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15754 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15755 don't really mix very well.
15757 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15758 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15759 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15760 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15763 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15764 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15765 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15766 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15769 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15771 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15773 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15775 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15777 ((string= group "important")
15783 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15784 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15786 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15787 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15788 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15791 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15792 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15794 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15795 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15796 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15797 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15798 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15799 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15800 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15801 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15802 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15803 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15804 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15805 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15806 name or @code{delete}.
15808 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15810 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15813 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15814 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15815 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15816 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15817 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15820 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15821 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15822 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15823 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15824 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15827 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15828 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15829 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15830 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15831 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15832 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15834 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15835 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15836 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15837 easier for procmail users.
15839 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15840 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15841 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15842 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15843 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15844 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15845 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15846 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15847 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15848 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15849 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15850 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15851 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15854 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15856 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15857 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15858 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15859 auto-expire turned on.
15861 @vindex gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable
15862 The expirable marks of articles will be removed when copying or moving
15863 them to a group in which auto-expire is not turned on. This is for
15864 preventing articles from being expired unintentionally. On the other
15865 hand, to a group that has turned auto-expire on, the expirable marks of
15866 articles that are copied or moved will not be changed by default. I.e.,
15867 when copying or moving to such a group, articles that were expirable
15868 will be left expirable and ones that were not expirable will not be
15869 marked as expirable. So, even though in auto-expire groups, some
15870 articles will never get expired (unless you read them again). If you
15871 don't side with that behavior that unexpirable articles may be mixed
15872 into auto-expire groups, you can set
15873 @code{gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable} to a
15874 non-@code{nil} value. In that case, articles that have been read will
15875 be marked as expirable automatically when being copied or moved to a
15876 group that has auto-expire turned on. The default value is @code{nil}.
15880 @subsection Washing Mail
15881 @cindex mail washing
15882 @cindex list server brain damage
15883 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15885 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15886 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15887 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15888 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15889 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15890 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15892 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15893 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15894 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15897 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15898 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15899 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15900 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15903 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15904 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15905 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15906 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15907 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15910 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15911 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15912 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15913 Emacs running on MS machines.
15917 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15918 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15919 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15920 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15923 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15924 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15925 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15926 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15928 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15929 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15930 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15931 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15932 into a feature by documenting it.)
15934 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15935 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15936 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15937 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15938 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15939 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15940 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15943 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15944 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15947 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15948 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15951 This can also be done non-destructively with
15952 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15954 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15955 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15956 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15958 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15959 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15960 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15963 Some mail user agents (e.g., Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15964 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15965 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15966 contain a line matching the regular expression
15967 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15971 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15972 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15973 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15977 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15978 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15979 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15986 @subsection Duplicates
15988 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15989 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15990 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15991 @cindex duplicate mails
15992 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15993 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15994 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15995 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s:
15996 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15997 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15998 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15999 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
16000 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
16001 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
16002 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
16003 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
16004 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
16006 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
16007 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
16008 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
16009 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
16011 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
16014 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
16015 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
16019 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
16020 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
16021 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
16022 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
16023 (any mail "mail.misc")
16024 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16030 (setq nnmail-split-methods
16031 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
16032 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16036 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
16037 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
16038 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
16039 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
16040 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
16043 @node Not Reading Mail
16044 @subsection Not Reading Mail
16046 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
16047 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
16048 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
16050 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
16051 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
16052 mail, which should help.
16054 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16055 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16056 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16057 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16058 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16059 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
16060 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
16061 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
16062 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
16063 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16064 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16066 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16067 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16071 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16072 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16074 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16075 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16076 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16078 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16079 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16080 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16084 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16085 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16086 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16087 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16088 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16089 * nnmaildir Group Parameters::
16090 * Article Identification::
16093 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16094 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16099 @node Unix Mail Box
16100 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16102 @cindex unix mail box
16104 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16105 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16106 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16107 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16108 which group it belongs in.
16110 Virtual server settings:
16113 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16114 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16115 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16118 @item nnmbox-active-file
16119 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16120 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16121 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16123 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16124 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16125 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16126 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16131 @subsubsection Babyl
16134 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16135 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16136 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16137 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16138 group it belongs in.
16140 Virtual server settings:
16143 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16144 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16145 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16147 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16148 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16149 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16150 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16152 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16153 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16154 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16160 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16162 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16164 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16165 format. It should be used with some caution.
16167 @vindex nnml-directory
16168 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16169 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16170 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16171 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16173 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16176 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16177 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16178 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16179 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16180 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16181 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16182 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16183 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16185 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16186 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16187 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16188 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16190 Virtual server settings:
16193 @item nnml-directory
16194 @vindex nnml-directory
16195 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16196 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16199 @item nnml-active-file
16200 @vindex nnml-active-file
16201 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16202 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16204 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16205 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16206 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16207 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16209 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16210 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16211 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16214 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16215 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16216 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16217 default is @code{nil}.
16219 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16220 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16221 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16223 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16224 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16225 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16227 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16228 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16229 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16230 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16231 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16232 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16233 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16234 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16235 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16237 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16238 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16239 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16240 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16241 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16245 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16246 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16247 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16248 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16249 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16250 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16251 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16256 @subsubsection MH Spool
16258 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16260 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16261 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16262 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16263 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16266 Virtual server settings:
16269 @item nnmh-directory
16270 @vindex nnmh-directory
16271 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16272 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16275 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16276 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16277 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16281 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16282 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16283 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16284 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16285 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16286 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16287 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16292 @subsubsection Maildir
16296 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16297 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16298 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16299 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16300 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16303 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16304 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16305 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16306 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16307 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16308 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16309 that appear as group in Gnus.
16311 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16312 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16313 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16315 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16316 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16317 another, and you will keep your marks.
16319 Virtual server settings:
16323 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16324 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16325 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16326 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16327 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16328 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16329 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16330 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16331 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16332 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16334 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16335 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16336 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16337 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16338 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16339 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16340 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16341 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16342 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16343 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16346 @item target-prefix
16347 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16348 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16349 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16352 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16353 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16354 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16355 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16356 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16357 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16358 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16359 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16360 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16362 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16363 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16364 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16365 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16366 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16368 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16369 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16370 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16371 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16372 @code{force} argument.
16374 @item directory-files
16375 This should be a function with the same interface as
16376 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
16377 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
16378 parameter is optional; the default is
16379 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
16380 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
16381 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
16382 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
16383 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
16384 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
16387 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
16388 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
16389 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
16390 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
16391 value is @code{nil}.
16393 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
16394 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
16395 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
16396 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
16397 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
16400 @node nnmaildir Group Parameters
16401 @subsubsection Group parameters
16403 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
16404 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
16405 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
16406 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
16407 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
16408 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
16411 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
16412 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
16413 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
16414 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
16415 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
16416 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
16417 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
16418 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
16419 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
16423 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
16424 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
16425 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
16426 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
16427 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
16428 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
16429 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
16430 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
16431 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
16432 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
16433 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
16434 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
16435 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
16438 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
16440 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
16442 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
16443 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
16444 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
16445 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
16446 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
16447 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
16448 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
16449 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
16450 article. So that form can refer to
16451 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
16452 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
16453 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
16454 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
16457 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
16458 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
16459 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
16460 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
16461 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
16462 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
16463 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
16464 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
16465 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
16466 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
16467 contain extra copies of the articles.
16469 @item directory-files
16470 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
16471 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
16472 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
16473 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
16475 @item distrust-Lines:
16476 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
16477 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
16478 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
16481 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
16482 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16483 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
16484 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
16485 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
16486 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16489 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
16490 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16491 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
16492 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
16493 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
16494 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
16495 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16497 @item nov-cache-size
16498 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
16499 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
16500 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
16501 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
16502 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
16503 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
16504 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
16505 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
16506 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
16507 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
16508 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
16511 @node Article Identification
16512 @subsubsection Article identification
16513 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
16514 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
16515 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
16516 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
16517 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
16518 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
16519 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
16520 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
16521 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
16522 request the article in the summary buffer.
16525 @subsubsection NOV data
16526 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
16527 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
16528 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
16529 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
16530 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
16531 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
16532 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
16533 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
16534 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
16535 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
16536 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
16538 @node Article Marks
16539 @subsubsection Article marks
16540 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
16541 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
16542 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16543 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
16544 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16545 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
16546 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
16547 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
16549 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
16550 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
16551 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
16552 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
16553 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
16554 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
16555 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
16556 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
16557 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
16561 @subsubsection Mail Folders
16563 @cindex mbox folders
16564 @cindex mail folders
16566 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
16567 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
16568 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
16569 numbers and arrival dates.
16571 Virtual server settings:
16574 @item nnfolder-directory
16575 @vindex nnfolder-directory
16576 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
16577 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
16578 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
16580 @item nnfolder-active-file
16581 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
16582 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
16584 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16585 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16586 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16587 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
16589 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
16590 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16591 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
16592 default is @code{t}
16594 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16595 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16596 @cindex backup files
16597 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
16598 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
16599 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
16600 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
16603 (defun turn-off-backup ()
16604 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
16606 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
16609 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16610 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16611 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
16612 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
16613 extract some information from it before removing it.
16615 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16616 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16617 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16618 default is @code{nil}.
16620 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16621 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16622 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
16624 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
16625 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
16626 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
16627 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16632 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
16633 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
16634 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
16635 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
16636 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
16637 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
16640 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
16641 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
16643 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
16644 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
16645 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
16646 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
16647 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
16649 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
16650 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
16651 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
16652 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
16653 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
16654 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
16655 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
16656 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
16659 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
16660 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
16661 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
16662 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
16667 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-defined
16668 format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
16669 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
16670 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
16671 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
16672 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
16673 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
16674 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
16675 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
16676 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
16677 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
16678 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
16679 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16684 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16685 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16686 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16687 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16688 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16689 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16690 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16691 Rmail was Emacs's first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16692 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16693 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16694 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16695 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16696 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16697 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
16698 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
16700 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16701 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16706 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16707 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16708 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16709 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16710 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16711 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16712 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16713 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16714 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16715 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16716 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16717 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16718 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16719 provided by the active file and overviews.
16721 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16722 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16723 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16724 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16725 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16728 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16729 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16734 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16735 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16736 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16737 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16738 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16739 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16740 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16744 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16745 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16746 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16747 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16748 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16749 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16750 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16751 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16752 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16754 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16755 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16756 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16757 friendly mail back end all over.
16761 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16762 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16765 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16766 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16767 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16768 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16769 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}.
16770 (Use @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this
16771 slows you down or takes up very much space, a non-block-structured
16774 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16775 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16776 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16777 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16778 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16779 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16780 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16781 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16782 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16783 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16784 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16786 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16787 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16788 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16789 else, and still have your marks.
16791 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16792 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16793 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16794 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16795 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16796 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16797 removed in the future.
16799 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16800 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16801 on your file system.
16803 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16804 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16809 @node Browsing the Web
16810 @section Browsing the Web
16812 @cindex browsing the web
16816 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16817 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16818 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16819 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16820 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16821 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16822 even know what a news group is.
16824 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16825 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16826 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16827 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16828 you mad in the end.
16830 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16833 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16834 interfaces to these sources.
16838 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16839 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16842 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16843 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16844 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16845 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16846 though, you should be ok.
16848 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16849 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16850 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16851 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16852 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16854 @node Archiving Mail
16855 @subsection Archiving Mail
16856 @cindex archiving mail
16857 @cindex backup of mail
16859 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16860 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16861 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16862 marks is fairly simple.
16864 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16865 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16868 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16869 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16870 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16871 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16872 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16873 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16874 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16875 before you restore the data.
16878 @subsection Web Searches
16883 @cindex Usenet searches
16884 @cindex searching the Usenet
16886 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16887 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16888 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16889 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16890 searches without having to use a browser.
16892 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16893 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16894 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16895 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16896 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16898 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16899 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16900 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16901 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16902 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16903 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16904 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16905 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16906 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16907 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16910 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16911 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16912 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16913 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16914 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16915 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16917 Virtual server variables:
16922 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16923 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16924 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16927 @vindex nnweb-search
16928 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16930 @item nnweb-max-hits
16931 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16932 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16935 @item nnweb-type-definition
16936 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16937 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16938 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16943 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16947 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16950 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16953 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16957 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16968 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16969 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16970 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16971 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16972 changes to a wiki (e.g., @url{http://cliki.net/site/recent-changes}).
16974 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16975 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16977 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16978 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16979 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16982 @kindex G R (Group)
16983 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16984 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16985 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16986 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16988 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16989 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16990 subscribe to groups.
16992 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16993 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16994 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16995 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16996 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
16999 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17000 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17001 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17004 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17005 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17008 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17009 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17013 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17014 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17015 @acronym{OPML} format.
17018 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17021 @item nnrss-directory
17022 @vindex nnrss-directory
17023 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17024 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17026 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17027 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17028 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17029 data files. The default is the value of
17030 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17031 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17033 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17034 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17035 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17036 e.g., to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17037 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17038 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17039 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17040 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17042 @item nnrss-use-local
17043 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17044 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17045 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17046 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17047 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17048 download script using @command{wget}.
17051 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17052 the summary buffer.
17055 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17056 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17058 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17060 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17061 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17064 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17068 (require 'browse-url)
17070 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17072 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17075 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17076 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17079 (browse-url (cdr url))
17080 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17081 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17083 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17084 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17085 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17086 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17089 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17090 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17091 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17092 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17093 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17094 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17095 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17096 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17097 @code{nnrss} groups:
17100 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17101 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17103 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17104 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17105 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17107 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17110 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17114 @node Other Sources
17115 @section Other Sources
17117 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17118 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17122 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17123 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17124 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17125 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17126 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
17130 @node Directory Groups
17131 @subsection Directory Groups
17133 @cindex directory groups
17135 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17136 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17139 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17140 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17141 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17142 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17144 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17145 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17146 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17147 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17148 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17150 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17152 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17153 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17154 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17155 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17158 @node Anything Groups
17159 @subsection Anything Groups
17162 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17163 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17164 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17167 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17168 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17169 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17170 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17171 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17172 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17173 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17174 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g., a C source file),
17175 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17176 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17179 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17180 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17181 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17182 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17184 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17185 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17186 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17187 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17189 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17190 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17191 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17192 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17193 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17194 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17195 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17196 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17201 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17202 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17203 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17204 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17206 @item nneething-exclude-files
17207 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17208 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17209 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17211 @item nneething-include-files
17212 @vindex nneething-include-files
17213 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17214 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17216 @item nneething-map-file
17217 @vindex nneething-map-file
17218 Name of the map files.
17222 @node Document Groups
17223 @subsection Document Groups
17225 @cindex documentation group
17228 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17229 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17239 The standard Unix mbox file.
17241 @cindex MMDF mail box
17243 The MMDF mail box format.
17246 Several news articles appended into a file.
17248 @cindex rnews batch files
17250 The rnews batch transport format.
17253 Netscape mail boxes.
17256 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17258 @item standard-digest
17259 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17262 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17264 @item lanl-gov-announce
17265 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17267 @cindex git commit messages
17269 @code{git} commit messages.
17271 @cindex forwarded messages
17272 @item rfc822-forward
17273 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17276 The Outlook mail box.
17279 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17282 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17285 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17288 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17294 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17297 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17303 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17304 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17305 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17308 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17309 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17310 group. And that's it.
17312 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17313 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17314 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17315 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17316 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17317 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17318 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17319 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17320 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17321 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17323 Virtual server variables:
17326 @item nndoc-article-type
17327 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17328 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17329 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17330 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17331 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17332 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17334 @item nndoc-post-type
17335 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17336 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17337 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17342 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17346 @node Document Server Internals
17347 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17349 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17350 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17351 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17352 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17354 First, here's an example document type definition:
17358 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17359 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17362 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17363 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17364 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17365 types can be defined with very few settings:
17368 @item first-article
17369 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17370 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17373 @item article-begin
17374 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17375 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17376 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17377 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17379 @item article-begin-function
17380 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17381 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17384 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17385 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17386 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17388 @item head-begin-function
17389 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17390 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17393 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17394 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17397 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17398 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17399 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17401 @item body-begin-function
17402 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17403 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17406 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17407 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17408 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17410 @item body-end-function
17411 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17412 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17415 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17416 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17419 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17420 regexp will be totally ignored.
17424 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17425 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17426 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17427 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17428 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17431 @item prepare-body-function
17432 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17433 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17434 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17436 @item article-transform-function
17437 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17438 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17439 body of the article.
17441 @item generate-head-function
17442 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17443 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17444 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17445 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17447 @item generate-article-function
17448 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17449 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17450 parameter when requesting all articles.
17452 @item dissection-function
17453 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17454 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17455 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17456 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17457 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17458 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17462 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17467 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17468 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17469 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17470 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17471 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17472 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17473 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17474 (subtype digest guess))
17477 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17478 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17479 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17480 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17481 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17483 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17484 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17485 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17486 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17487 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17488 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17489 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17490 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17491 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17492 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17493 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17494 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17497 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17498 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17499 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17502 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17503 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17504 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17506 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17512 @item nngateway-address
17513 @vindex nngateway-address
17514 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17516 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17517 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17518 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17519 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17520 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17521 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17522 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17525 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17526 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17527 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17530 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17533 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17536 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17539 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17541 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17544 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17545 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17546 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17548 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17550 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17551 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17552 @code{nngateway-address}.
17560 (setq gnus-post-method
17562 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17563 (nngateway-header-transformation
17564 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17567 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17570 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17574 @node The Empty Backend
17575 @subsection The Empty Backend
17578 @code{nnnil} is a backend that can be used as a placeholder if you
17579 have to specify a backend somewhere, but don't really want to. The
17580 classical example is if you don't want to have a primary select
17581 methods, but want to only use secondary ones:
17584 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnnil ""))
17585 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
17591 @node Combined Groups
17592 @section Combined Groups
17594 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17598 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17602 @node Virtual Groups
17603 @subsection Virtual Groups
17605 @cindex virtual groups
17606 @cindex merging groups
17608 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17611 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17612 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17613 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17615 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17616 regexp to match component groups.
17618 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17619 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17620 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17621 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17622 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17623 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17624 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17625 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17627 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17628 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17631 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17634 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17635 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17637 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17638 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17639 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17640 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17643 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17646 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17647 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17648 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17650 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17651 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17652 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17653 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17654 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17656 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17657 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17658 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17660 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17661 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
17662 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
17663 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
17664 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
17665 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
17666 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
17667 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
17668 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
17669 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
17670 it---it'll have much the same effect.
17672 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17673 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17674 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17675 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17676 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17677 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17678 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17680 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17681 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17683 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17684 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17688 @node Email Based Diary
17689 @section Email Based Diary
17691 @cindex email based diary
17694 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
17695 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
17696 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
17697 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
17698 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
17699 namely, as event reminders.
17701 Here is a typical scenario:
17705 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
17706 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
17708 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
17710 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
17712 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
17713 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
17714 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
17716 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
17717 of the night you're gonna have.
17719 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
17720 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
17723 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
17724 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
17725 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
17726 explained in the sections below.
17729 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
17730 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
17731 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
17735 @node The NNDiary Back End
17736 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
17738 @cindex the nndiary back end
17740 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
17741 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
17742 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
17743 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
17744 directory per group.
17746 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
17747 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
17748 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
17749 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
17752 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
17753 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
17754 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
17757 @node Diary Messages
17758 @subsubsection Diary Messages
17759 @cindex nndiary messages
17760 @cindex nndiary mails
17762 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
17763 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
17764 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
17765 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
17766 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
17767 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
17768 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
17772 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
17773 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
17774 (separated by a comma).
17776 A field is either an integer, or a range.
17778 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
17780 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
17781 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
17782 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
17784 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
17785 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
17786 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
17788 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
17789 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
17790 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
17791 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
17792 list of available time zone values, see the variable
17793 @code{nndiary-headers}.
17796 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
17797 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
17798 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
17803 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
17806 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
17808 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
17811 @node Running NNDiary
17812 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
17813 @cindex running nndiary
17814 @cindex nndiary operation modes
17816 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
17817 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
17818 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
17819 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
17820 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
17821 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
17823 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
17824 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
17825 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
17826 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
17827 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
17828 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
17829 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
17832 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
17837 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
17838 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17841 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
17844 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
17845 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
17846 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
17847 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
17848 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
17850 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
17851 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
17860 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
17861 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
17863 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
17864 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17865 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
17866 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
17869 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
17870 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17871 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
17874 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
17875 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
17876 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
17878 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
17879 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
17880 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
17881 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
17882 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
17884 @node Customizing NNDiary
17885 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
17886 @cindex customizing nndiary
17887 @cindex nndiary customization
17889 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
17890 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
17891 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
17892 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
17894 @defvar nndiary-reminders
17895 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
17896 appointments (e.g., 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
17897 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
17898 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
17902 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
17903 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
17908 @node The Gnus Diary Library
17909 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
17911 @cindex the gnus diary library
17913 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
17914 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
17915 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
17916 useful things for you.
17918 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17921 (require 'gnus-diary)
17924 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
17925 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
17926 (sorry if you used them before).
17930 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
17931 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
17932 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
17933 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
17936 @node Diary Summary Line Format
17937 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
17938 @cindex diary summary buffer line
17939 @cindex diary summary line format
17941 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
17942 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
17943 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
17944 see the event's date.
17946 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
17947 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
17948 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g., ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
17949 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximate remaining time until the
17950 next occurrence of the event (e.g., ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
17952 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
17953 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
17954 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
17957 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
17960 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
17961 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
17964 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
17967 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
17968 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
17969 with the following user options:
17971 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
17972 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
17973 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
17974 diary groups'parameters.
17977 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
17978 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
17979 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
17982 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
17983 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
17984 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
17985 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
17986 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
17989 @node Diary Articles Sorting
17990 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
17991 @cindex diary articles sorting
17992 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
17993 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
17994 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
17995 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
17997 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
17998 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
17999 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18000 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18001 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18003 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18004 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18005 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18006 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18009 @node Diary Headers Generation
18010 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18011 @cindex diary headers generation
18012 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18014 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18015 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18016 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18017 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18020 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18021 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18022 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
18023 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
18024 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
18026 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18027 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18028 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18031 @node Diary Group Parameters
18032 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18033 @cindex diary group parameters
18035 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18036 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18037 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18038 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18039 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18040 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18041 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18042 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18044 @node Sending or Not Sending
18045 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18047 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18048 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18052 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18053 messages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18054 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18055 sending the diary message to them as well.
18057 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18058 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18059 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18060 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18063 @node Gnus Unplugged
18064 @section Gnus Unplugged
18069 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18071 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18072 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18073 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18074 read news. Believe it or not.
18076 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18077 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18078 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18079 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18080 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18082 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18083 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18084 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18085 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18086 reading news on a machine.
18088 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18089 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18090 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18092 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18095 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18096 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18097 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18098 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18099 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18100 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18101 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18102 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18103 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18104 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18105 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18106 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18107 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18108 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18113 @subsection Agent Basics
18115 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18117 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18118 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18119 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18120 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18122 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18123 connected to the net continuously.
18125 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18126 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18128 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18129 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18130 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18131 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18132 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18134 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18135 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18136 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18137 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18138 they're kinda like plugged always).
18140 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18141 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18142 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18145 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18146 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18147 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18148 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18149 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18151 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18156 @findex gnus-unplugged
18157 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18158 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18159 already fetched while in this mode.
18162 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18163 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18164 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18165 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18166 Source Specifiers}).
18169 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18170 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18171 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18172 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18173 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18176 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18177 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18178 then you read the news offline.
18181 And then you go to step 2.
18184 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18190 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18191 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18192 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18193 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18194 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18195 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18196 no servers are agentized.
18199 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18200 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18201 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18202 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18204 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18205 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18206 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18207 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18208 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18209 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18213 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18217 @node Agent Categories
18218 @subsection Agent Categories
18220 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18221 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18222 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18223 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18224 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18225 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18226 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18228 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18229 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18230 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18231 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18232 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18234 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18235 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18236 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18237 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18238 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18241 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18242 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18243 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18244 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18245 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18246 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18250 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18251 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18252 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18256 @node Category Syntax
18257 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18259 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18260 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18261 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18264 @cindex Agent Parameters
18267 The list of groups that are in this category.
18269 @item agent-predicate
18270 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18271 are eligible for downloading; and
18274 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18275 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18276 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18278 @item agent-enable-expiration
18279 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18280 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18281 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18282 only groups that should not be expired.
18284 @item agent-days-until-old
18285 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18286 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18288 @item agent-low-score
18289 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18291 @item agent-high-score
18292 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18294 @item agent-short-article
18295 an integer that overrides the value of
18296 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18298 @item agent-long-article
18299 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18301 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18302 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18303 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18304 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18305 undownloaded faces.
18308 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18311 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18312 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18313 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18316 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18317 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18318 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18319 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18321 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18322 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18323 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18325 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18326 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18327 operators sprinkled in between.
18329 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18331 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18332 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18338 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18339 short (for some value of ``short'').
18341 Here's a more complex predicate:
18350 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18351 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18354 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18355 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18356 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18358 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18359 you want to do, you can write your own.
18361 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18362 bound to the value determined by calling
18363 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18364 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18365 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18366 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18367 predicate to individual groups.
18371 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18372 lines; default 100.
18375 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18376 lines; default 200.
18379 True if the article has a download score less than
18380 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18383 True if the article has a download score greater than
18384 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18387 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18388 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18389 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18398 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18399 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18400 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18403 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18404 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g., posted
18405 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18406 something along the lines of the following:
18409 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18410 "Say whether an article is old."
18411 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18412 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18415 with the predicate then defined as:
18418 (not my-article-old-p)
18421 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18422 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18426 (require 'gnus-agent)
18427 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18428 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18429 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18432 and simply specify your predicate as:
18438 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18439 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18440 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18441 just don't give a damn.
18443 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18444 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18445 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18446 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18447 parameters like so:
18450 (agent-predicate . short)
18453 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18454 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18455 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18457 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18460 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18463 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18464 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18465 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18468 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18469 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18470 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18471 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18472 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18473 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18475 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18476 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18477 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18478 if it's to be specific to that group.
18480 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18487 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18488 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18494 Category specification
18498 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18504 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18507 (agent-score ("from"
18508 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18513 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18519 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18520 keywords stated above.
18526 Category specification
18529 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18535 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18539 Group Parameter specification
18542 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18545 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18550 Use @code{normal} score files
18552 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18553 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18554 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18555 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18557 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18558 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18559 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18560 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18564 Category Specification
18571 Group Parameter specification
18574 (agent-score . file)
18579 @node Category Buffer
18580 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18582 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18583 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18584 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18586 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18590 @kindex q (Category)
18591 @findex gnus-category-exit
18592 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18595 @kindex e (Category)
18596 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18597 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18598 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18601 @kindex k (Category)
18602 @findex gnus-category-kill
18603 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18606 @kindex c (Category)
18607 @findex gnus-category-copy
18608 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18611 @kindex a (Category)
18612 @findex gnus-category-add
18613 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18616 @kindex p (Category)
18617 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18618 Edit the predicate of the current category
18619 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18622 @kindex g (Category)
18623 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18624 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18625 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18628 @kindex s (Category)
18629 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18630 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18631 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18634 @kindex l (Category)
18635 @findex gnus-category-list
18636 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18640 @node Category Variables
18641 @subsubsection Category Variables
18644 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18645 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18646 Hook run in category buffers.
18648 @item gnus-category-line-format
18649 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18650 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18651 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18655 The name of the category.
18658 The number of groups in the category.
18661 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18662 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18663 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18665 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18666 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18667 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18669 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18670 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18671 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18673 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18674 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18675 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18678 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18679 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18680 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18683 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18684 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18685 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18686 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18687 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18688 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18689 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18690 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18694 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18695 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18696 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18697 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18698 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18699 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18700 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18705 @node Agent Commands
18706 @subsection Agent Commands
18707 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18708 @kindex J j (Agent)
18710 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18711 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18712 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18716 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18717 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18718 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18724 @node Group Agent Commands
18725 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18729 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18730 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18731 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18732 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18735 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18736 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18737 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18740 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18741 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18742 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18743 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18746 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18747 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18748 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18749 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18752 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18753 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18754 Add the current group to an Agent category
18755 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18756 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18759 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18760 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18761 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18762 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18763 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18766 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18767 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18768 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18774 @node Summary Agent Commands
18775 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18779 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18780 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18781 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18784 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18785 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18786 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18787 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18791 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18792 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18793 Toggle whether to download the article
18794 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18798 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18799 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18800 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18803 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18804 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18805 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18806 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18809 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18810 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
18811 Download all processable articles in this group.
18812 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
18815 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18816 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18817 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18818 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18823 @node Server Agent Commands
18824 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18828 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18829 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18830 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18831 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18834 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18835 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18836 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18837 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18842 @node Agent Visuals
18843 @subsection Agent Visuals
18845 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18846 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18847 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18848 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18849 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18850 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18851 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18852 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18853 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18854 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18856 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18857 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18858 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18859 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18860 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
18861 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18862 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18863 articles will be available when unplugged.
18865 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18866 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18867 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18868 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18869 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18870 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18871 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18872 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18874 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18875 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18876 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18877 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18878 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18879 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18880 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18881 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18882 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18884 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18885 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18886 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18887 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18888 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18889 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18890 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18891 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18892 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18893 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18895 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18896 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18897 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
18898 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
18899 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
18900 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18902 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
18903 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
18904 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
18905 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
18906 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
18907 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
18908 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
18909 expiring'' articles.
18911 @node Agent as Cache
18912 @subsection Agent as Cache
18914 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18915 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18916 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18917 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18918 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18919 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18920 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18921 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18922 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18924 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18925 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18926 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18927 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18928 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18931 @subsection Agent Expiry
18933 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18934 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18935 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18936 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18937 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18938 @cindex agent expiry
18939 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18940 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
18942 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18943 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18944 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18945 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18946 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18947 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18948 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18949 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18951 Note that other functions might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you
18952 to keep the agent synchronized with the group.
18954 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18955 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18957 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18958 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18959 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18960 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18961 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18962 be kept indefinitely.
18964 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18965 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18966 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18967 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18969 @node Agent Regeneration
18970 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18972 @cindex agent regeneration
18973 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18974 @cindex regeneration
18976 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18977 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18978 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18979 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18980 internal inconsistencies.
18982 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18983 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18984 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18985 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18986 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18987 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18989 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18990 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18991 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18992 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18993 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18994 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18996 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18997 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18998 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18999 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19000 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19001 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19004 @node Agent and flags
19005 @subsection Agent and flags
19007 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19008 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc.)@: on the server. Sadly,
19009 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19010 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19011 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19012 to the flags in its own files.
19014 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19015 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19016 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19018 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19019 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19020 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19021 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19022 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19023 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19025 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19026 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19027 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19028 in the group buffer.
19030 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19031 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19032 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19033 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19034 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19035 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19036 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19037 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19039 @node Agent and IMAP
19040 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19042 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19043 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19044 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19045 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19047 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19048 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19053 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19056 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19060 @node Outgoing Messages
19061 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19063 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19064 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19065 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19067 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19068 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19069 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19071 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19072 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19073 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19074 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19077 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19078 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19079 ask you to confirm your action (see
19080 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19082 @node Agent Variables
19083 @subsection Agent Variables
19088 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19089 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19090 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19091 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19093 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19094 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19097 @item gnus-agent-directory
19098 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19099 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19100 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19102 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19103 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19104 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19105 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19106 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19109 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19110 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19111 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19113 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19114 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19115 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19117 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19118 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19119 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19121 @item gnus-agent-cache
19122 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19123 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19124 articles when plugged, e.g., essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19125 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19127 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19128 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19129 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19130 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19131 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19132 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19133 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19136 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19137 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19138 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19139 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19140 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19141 read. The default is @code{t}.
19143 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19144 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19145 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19146 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19147 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19148 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19149 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19151 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19152 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19153 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19154 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19155 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19156 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19157 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19158 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19159 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19160 over and over again.
19162 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19163 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19164 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19165 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19166 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19167 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19168 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19169 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19170 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19171 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19172 However, all articles parsed prior to losing the connection will be
19173 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19176 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19177 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19178 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19179 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19180 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19181 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19182 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19183 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19184 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19186 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19187 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19188 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19189 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19190 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19191 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19193 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19194 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19195 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19196 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19197 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19199 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19200 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19201 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19202 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19203 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19204 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19206 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19207 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19208 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19209 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19210 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19212 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19213 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19214 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19215 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19216 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19217 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19218 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19219 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19220 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19221 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19222 start Gnus. The default is @samp{nil}.
19227 @node Example Setup
19228 @subsection Example Setup
19230 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19231 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19232 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19235 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19236 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19237 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19239 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19240 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19241 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19243 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19244 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19246 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19247 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19248 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19251 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19252 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19255 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19256 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19257 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19258 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19259 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19262 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19263 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19264 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19265 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19266 back all the killed groups.)
19268 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19269 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19270 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19273 @node Batching Agents
19274 @subsection Batching Agents
19275 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19277 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19278 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19279 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19281 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19282 following incantation:
19286 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19290 @node Agent Caveats
19291 @subsection Agent Caveats
19293 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19294 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19298 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19300 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19301 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19302 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19304 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19305 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19307 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19311 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19312 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19313 locally stored articles.
19320 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19321 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19322 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19325 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19326 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19327 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19328 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19329 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19331 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19332 before generating the summary buffer.
19334 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19335 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19336 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19338 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19339 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19340 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19341 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19344 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19345 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19346 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19347 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19348 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19349 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19350 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19351 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19352 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19353 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19354 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19355 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19356 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19357 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19358 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19359 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19363 @node Summary Score Commands
19364 @section Summary Score Commands
19365 @cindex score commands
19367 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19368 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19369 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19370 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19371 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19373 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19374 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19375 some other score file (e.g., @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19376 score file the current one.
19378 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19383 @kindex V s (Summary)
19384 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19385 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19388 @kindex V S (Summary)
19389 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19390 Display the score of the current article
19391 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19394 @kindex V t (Summary)
19395 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19396 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19397 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19398 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19399 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19400 score file and edit it.
19403 @kindex V w (Summary)
19404 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19405 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19408 @kindex V R (Summary)
19409 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19410 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19411 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19412 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19413 effect you're having.
19416 @kindex V c (Summary)
19417 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19418 Make a different score file the current
19419 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19422 @kindex V e (Summary)
19423 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19424 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19425 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19429 @kindex V f (Summary)
19430 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19431 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19432 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19435 @kindex V F (Summary)
19436 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19437 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19438 after editing score files.
19441 @kindex V C (Summary)
19442 @findex gnus-score-customize
19443 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19444 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19448 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19453 @kindex V m (Summary)
19454 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19455 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19456 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19459 @kindex V x (Summary)
19460 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19461 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19462 expunge all articles below this score
19463 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19466 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19467 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19470 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19471 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19475 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19476 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19478 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19479 keys are available:
19483 Score on the author name.
19486 Score on the subject line.
19489 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19492 Score on the @code{References} line.
19498 Score on the number of lines.
19501 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19504 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19505 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19508 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19509 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19510 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19519 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19525 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19526 what headers you are scoring on.
19538 Substring matching.
19541 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19570 Greater than number.
19575 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19576 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19577 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19582 Temporary score entry.
19585 Permanent score entry.
19588 Immediately scoring.
19592 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19593 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19594 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19598 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19599 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19600 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19601 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19603 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19604 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19605 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19606 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19607 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19609 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19610 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19611 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19612 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19613 current score file.
19615 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19616 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19617 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19620 @node Group Score Commands
19621 @section Group Score Commands
19622 @cindex group score commands
19624 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19629 @kindex W e (Group)
19630 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19631 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19632 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19635 @kindex W f (Group)
19636 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19637 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19638 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19639 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19643 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19645 @findex gnus-batch-score
19646 @cindex batch scoring
19648 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19652 @node Score Variables
19653 @section Score Variables
19654 @cindex score variables
19658 @item gnus-use-scoring
19659 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19660 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19661 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19663 @item gnus-kill-killed
19664 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19665 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19666 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19667 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19668 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19669 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19670 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19672 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19673 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19674 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19675 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19676 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19678 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19679 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19680 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19681 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19683 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19684 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19685 @cindex score cache
19686 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19687 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
19688 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19689 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19690 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19691 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19692 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19695 @item gnus-save-score
19696 @vindex gnus-save-score
19697 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19698 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19699 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19701 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19702 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19703 across group visits.
19705 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19706 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19707 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19708 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19709 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19710 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19711 manually entered data.
19713 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19714 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19715 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19717 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19718 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19719 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19720 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19721 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19722 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19724 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19725 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19726 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19727 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19729 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19730 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19731 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19732 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19734 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19735 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19736 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19737 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19739 Predefined functions available are:
19742 @item gnus-score-find-single
19743 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19744 Only apply the group's own score file.
19746 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19747 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19748 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19749 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19750 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19751 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19752 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19753 then a regexp match is done.
19755 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19756 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19758 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19759 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19760 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19761 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19763 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19764 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19765 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19766 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19767 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19771 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19772 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19773 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19774 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19775 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19776 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19777 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19780 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19781 overall score file, you could use the value
19783 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19784 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19787 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19788 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19789 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19790 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19791 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19793 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19794 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19795 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19796 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19797 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19798 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19799 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19800 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19802 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19803 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19804 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19806 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19807 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19808 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19809 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19810 threading---according to the current value of
19811 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19812 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19813 simplified in this manner.
19818 @node Score File Format
19819 @section Score File Format
19820 @cindex score file format
19822 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19823 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19824 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19826 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19830 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19832 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19834 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19836 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19841 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19845 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19846 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19847 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19848 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19852 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19853 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19855 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19856 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19857 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19859 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19864 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19865 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19866 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19867 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19868 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19869 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19870 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19871 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19872 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19873 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19874 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19875 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19876 to articles that matches these score entries.
19878 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19879 score entry has one to four elements.
19883 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19884 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19888 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19889 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19890 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19891 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19892 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19893 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19896 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19897 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19898 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19899 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19900 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19903 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19904 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19905 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19906 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19909 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19910 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19911 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19912 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19913 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19914 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19915 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19916 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19917 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19918 instead, if you feel like.
19921 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19922 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19923 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19924 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19925 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19926 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19930 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19931 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19935 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19936 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19938 These predicates are true if
19941 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19944 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19945 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19952 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19953 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19954 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19955 it's not. I think.)
19957 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19958 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19959 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19960 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19963 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19964 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19965 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19966 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19967 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19968 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19969 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19973 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19974 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19975 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19976 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19977 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19978 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19979 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19980 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19983 @item Head, Body, All
19984 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc.)@:
19988 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19989 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19990 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19991 you to increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19992 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19993 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19994 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19998 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19999 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20000 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20001 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20002 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20003 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20004 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20005 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20006 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20007 nondeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20008 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20012 @cindex score file atoms
20014 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20015 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20018 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20019 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20021 @item mark-and-expunge
20022 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20023 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20026 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20027 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20028 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20029 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20030 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20033 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20034 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20037 @item exclude-files
20038 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20039 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20043 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}ed. This element will be
20044 ignored when handling global score files.
20047 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20048 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20049 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20050 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20053 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20054 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20055 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20056 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20058 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20062 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20065 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20066 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20067 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{c y}) the
20068 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20069 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20071 I.e., the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20072 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20073 scoring rules exist.
20076 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20077 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20078 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20079 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20080 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20081 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20082 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20083 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20084 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20085 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20086 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20090 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20091 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20092 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20093 file for a number of groups.
20096 @cindex local variables
20097 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20098 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20099 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20100 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20101 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20106 @node Score File Editing
20107 @section Score File Editing
20109 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20110 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20111 with a mode for that.
20113 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20114 additional commands:
20119 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20120 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
20121 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20122 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
20125 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20126 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20127 Insert the current date in numerical format
20128 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20129 you were wondering.
20132 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20133 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20134 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20135 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20136 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20141 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20143 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20144 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20146 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20147 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20150 @node Adaptive Scoring
20151 @section Adaptive Scoring
20152 @cindex adaptive scoring
20154 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20155 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20156 stupidity, to be precise.
20158 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20159 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20160 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20161 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20162 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20163 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20164 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20165 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20166 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20168 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20169 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20170 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20171 might look something like this:
20174 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20175 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20176 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20177 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20178 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20179 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20180 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20181 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20182 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20183 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20184 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20185 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20188 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20189 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20190 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20191 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20192 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20193 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20196 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20197 will be applied to each article.
20199 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20200 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20201 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20202 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20204 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20205 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20206 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20207 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20209 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20210 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20211 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20212 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20214 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20215 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20216 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20217 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20218 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20219 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20221 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20222 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20223 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20225 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20226 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20227 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20229 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20230 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20231 let you use different rules in different groups.
20233 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20234 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20235 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20238 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20239 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20240 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20241 default) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20243 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20244 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20245 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20246 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20247 the length of the match is less than
20248 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20249 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20252 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20253 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20254 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20255 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20256 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20259 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20260 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20261 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20262 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20263 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20266 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20267 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20268 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20269 score with 30 points.
20271 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20272 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20273 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20274 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20275 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20277 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20278 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20279 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20280 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20281 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20283 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20284 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20285 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20286 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20288 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20289 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20290 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20291 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20293 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20294 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20295 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20296 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20297 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20299 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20300 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20301 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20303 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20304 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20305 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20306 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20309 @node Home Score File
20310 @section Home Score File
20312 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20313 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20314 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20315 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20317 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20318 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20319 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20321 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20322 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20327 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20331 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20332 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20336 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20340 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20341 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20344 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20345 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20346 name of the group as the parameter.
20349 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20352 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20357 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20360 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20361 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20364 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20365 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20367 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20369 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20370 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20373 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20374 Other functions include
20377 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20378 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20379 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20380 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20384 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20385 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20386 their own home score files:
20389 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20390 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20391 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20392 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20393 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20396 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20397 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20398 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20399 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20400 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20402 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20403 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20404 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20405 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20406 precedence over this variable.
20409 @node Followups To Yourself
20410 @section Followups To Yourself
20412 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20413 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20414 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20415 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20416 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20417 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20421 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20422 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20423 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20426 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20427 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20428 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20432 @vindex message-sent-hook
20433 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20434 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20436 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20440 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20441 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20445 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20446 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20449 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20450 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20455 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20459 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20460 is system-dependent.
20463 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20464 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20465 @cindex scoring on other headers
20467 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
20468 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
20469 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
20470 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
20471 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20473 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
20474 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
20475 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
20476 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
20477 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
20478 inhibited for all groups.
20480 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
20481 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20482 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20483 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20484 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20486 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20489 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20490 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20493 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20494 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20495 time if you have much mail.
20497 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20498 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20504 @section Scoring Tips
20505 @cindex scoring tips
20511 @cindex scoring crossposts
20512 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20513 the @code{Xref} header.
20515 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20518 @item Multiple crossposts
20519 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20520 more than, say, 3 groups:
20523 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20527 @item Matching on the body
20528 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20529 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20530 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20531 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20532 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20533 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20534 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20537 @item Marking as read
20538 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20539 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20540 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20544 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20546 @item Negated character classes
20547 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20548 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20549 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20553 @node Reverse Scoring
20554 @section Reverse Scoring
20555 @cindex reverse scoring
20557 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20558 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20559 like this in your score file:
20563 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20568 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20569 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20572 @node Global Score Files
20573 @section Global Score Files
20574 @cindex global score files
20576 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20577 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20578 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20580 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20581 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20582 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20584 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20585 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20586 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20587 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20588 files are applicable to which group.
20590 To use the score file
20591 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20592 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20596 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20597 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20598 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20601 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20603 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20604 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20605 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20606 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20608 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20609 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20611 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20612 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20613 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20614 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20615 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20616 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20618 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20624 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20626 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20628 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20630 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20631 lowered out of existence.
20633 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20634 articles completely.
20637 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20638 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20639 old articles for a long time.
20642 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20643 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20644 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20645 holding our breath yet?
20649 @section Kill Files
20652 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20653 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20654 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20656 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20657 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20658 files into score files.
20660 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20661 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20662 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20663 that isn't a very good idea.
20665 Normal kill files look like this:
20668 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20669 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20673 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20674 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20676 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20677 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20680 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20685 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20686 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20687 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20690 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20691 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20692 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20695 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20700 @kindex M-k (Group)
20701 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20702 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20705 @kindex M-K (Group)
20706 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20707 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20710 Kill file variables:
20713 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20714 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20715 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20716 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20717 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20718 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20719 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20721 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20722 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20723 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20724 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20727 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20728 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20729 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20730 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20731 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20732 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20733 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20734 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20735 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20737 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20738 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20739 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20744 @node Converting Kill Files
20745 @section Converting Kill Files
20747 @cindex converting kill files
20749 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20750 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20751 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20754 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
20755 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
20757 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20759 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20760 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20761 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20765 @node Advanced Scoring
20766 @section Advanced Scoring
20768 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20769 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20770 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20771 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20772 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20774 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20778 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20779 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20780 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20784 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20785 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20787 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20788 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20789 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20790 non-@code{nil} value.
20792 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20793 operator, and various match operators.
20800 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20801 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20802 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20807 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20808 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20809 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20814 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20815 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20819 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20820 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20821 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20822 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20823 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20824 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20825 the ancestry you want to go.
20827 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20828 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20829 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20830 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20831 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20834 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20835 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20837 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20838 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20841 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20842 when he's talking about Gnus:
20847 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20848 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20855 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20859 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20866 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20867 really don't want to read what he's written:
20871 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20872 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
20876 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20877 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20878 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20885 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20886 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20887 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20888 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20892 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
20893 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
20894 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
20895 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
20898 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20900 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20904 The possibilities are endless.
20906 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20907 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20909 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20910 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20911 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20912 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20913 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20914 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20915 @samp{subject}) first.
20917 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20918 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20929 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20930 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20936 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20943 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20944 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20949 @section Score Decays
20950 @cindex score decays
20953 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20954 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20955 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20956 use them in any sensible way.
20958 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20959 @findex gnus-decay-score
20960 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20961 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20962 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20963 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20964 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20965 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
20966 regexp are treated. E.g., you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
20967 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
20968 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
20969 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
20973 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20974 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20975 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20977 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20979 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20981 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20982 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20983 ;; XEmacs's floor can handle only the floating point
20984 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20985 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20987 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20991 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20992 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20993 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20994 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20998 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21001 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21004 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21008 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21009 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21010 the new score, which should be an integer.
21012 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21013 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21019 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
21020 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
21023 This chapter describes tools for searching groups and servers for
21024 articles matching a query and then retrieving those articles. Gnus
21025 provides a simpler mechanism for searching through articles in a summary buffer
21026 to find those matching a pattern. @xref{Searching for Articles}.
21029 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
21030 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
21037 This section describes how to use @code{nnir} to search for articles
21041 * What is nnir?:: What does @code{nnir} do?
21042 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
21043 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up @code{nnir}.
21046 @node What is nnir?
21047 @subsection What is nnir?
21049 @code{nnir} is a Gnus interface to a number of tools for searching
21050 through mail and news repositories. Different backends (like
21051 @code{nnimap} and @code{nntp}) work with different tools (called
21052 @dfn{engines} in @code{nnir} lingo), but all use the same basic search
21055 The @code{nnimap} and @code{gmane} search engines should work with no
21056 configuration. Other engines require a local index that needs to be
21057 created and maintained outside of Gnus.
21061 @subsection Basic Usage
21063 In the group buffer typing @kbd{G G} will search the group on the
21064 current line by calling @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. This prompts
21065 for a query string, creates an ephemeral @code{nnir} group containing
21066 the articles that match this query, and takes you to a summary buffer
21067 showing these articles. Articles may then be read, moved and deleted
21068 using the usual commands.
21070 The @code{nnir} group made in this way is an @code{ephemeral} group,
21071 and some changes are not permanent: aside from reading, moving, and
21072 deleting, you can't act on the original article. But there is an
21073 alternative: you can @emph{warp} (i.e., jump) to the original group
21074 for the article on the current line with @kbd{A W}, aka
21075 @code{gnus-warp-to-article}. Even better, the function
21076 @code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}, bound by default in summary buffers
21077 to @kbd{A T}, will first warp to the original group before it works
21078 its magic and includes all the articles in the thread. From here you
21079 can read, move and delete articles, but also copy them, alter article
21080 marks, whatever. Go nuts.
21082 You say you want to search more than just the group on the current line?
21083 No problem: just process-mark the groups you want to search. You want
21084 even more? Calling for an nnir search with the cursor on a topic heading
21085 will search all the groups under that heading.
21087 Still not enough? OK, in the server buffer
21088 @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group} (now bound to @kbd{G}) will search all
21089 groups from the server on the current line. Too much? Want to ignore
21090 certain groups when searching, like spam groups? Just customize
21091 @code{nnir-ignored-newsgroups}.
21093 One more thing: individual search engines may have special search
21094 features. You can access these special features by giving a prefix-arg
21095 to @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. If you are searching multiple
21096 groups with different search engines you will be prompted for the
21097 special search features for each engine separately.
21100 @node Setting up nnir
21101 @subsection Setting up nnir
21103 To set up nnir you may need to do some prep work. Firstly, you may need
21104 to configure the search engines you plan to use. Some of them, like
21105 @code{imap} and @code{gmane}, need no special configuration. Others,
21106 like @code{namazu} and @code{swish}, require configuration as described
21107 below. Secondly, you need to associate a search engine with a server or
21110 If you just want to use the @code{imap} engine to search @code{nnimap}
21111 servers, and the @code{gmane} engine to search @code{gmane} then you
21112 don't have to do anything. But you might want to read the details of the
21113 query language anyway.
21116 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
21117 * The imap Engine:: Imap configuration and usage.
21118 * The gmane Engine:: Gmane configuration and usage.
21119 * The swish++ Engine:: Swish++ configuration and usage.
21120 * The swish-e Engine:: Swish-e configuration and usage.
21121 * The namazu Engine:: Namazu configuration and usage.
21122 * The notmuch Engine:: Notmuch configuration and usage.
21123 * The hyrex Engine:: Hyrex configuration and usage.
21124 * Customizations:: User customizable settings.
21127 @node Associating Engines
21128 @subsubsection Associating Engines
21131 When searching a group, @code{nnir} needs to know which search engine to
21132 use. You can configure a given server to use a particular engine by
21133 setting the server variable @code{nnir-search-engine} to the engine
21134 name. For example to use the @code{namazu} engine to search the server
21135 named @code{home} you can use
21138 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
21140 (nnimap-address "localhost")
21141 (nnir-search-engine namazu))))
21144 Alternatively you might want to use a particular engine for all servers
21145 with a given backend. For example, you might want to use the @code{imap}
21146 engine for all servers using the @code{nnimap} backend. In this case you
21147 can customize the variable @code{nnir-method-default-engines}. This is
21148 an alist of pairs of the form @code{(backend . engine)}. By default this
21149 variable is set to use the @code{imap} engine for all servers using the
21150 @code{nnimap} backend, and the @code{gmane} backend for @code{nntp}
21151 servers. (Don't worry, the @code{gmane} search engine won't actually try
21152 to search non-gmane @code{nntp} servers.) But if you wanted to use
21153 @code{namazu} for all your servers with an @code{nnimap} backend you
21154 could change this to
21157 '((nnimap . namazu)
21161 @node The imap Engine
21162 @subsubsection The imap Engine
21164 The @code{imap} engine requires no configuration.
21166 Queries using the @code{imap} engine follow a simple query language.
21167 The search is always case-insensitive and supports the following
21168 features (inspired by the Google search input language):
21172 @item Boolean query operators
21173 AND, OR, and NOT are supported, and parentheses can be used to control
21174 operator precedence, e.g., (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux. Note that
21175 operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21176 recognized. Also preceding a term with a @minus{} sign is equivalent to NOT
21179 @item Automatic AND queries
21180 If you specify multiple words then they will be treated as an AND
21181 expression intended to match all components.
21183 @item Phrase searches
21184 If you wrap your query in double-quotes then it will be treated as a
21189 By default the whole message will be searched. The query can be limited
21190 to a specific part of a message by using a prefix-arg. After inputting
21191 the query this will prompt (with completion) for a message part.
21192 Choices include ``Whole message'', ``Subject'', ``From'', and
21193 ``To''. Any unrecognized input is interpreted as a header name. For
21194 example, typing @kbd{Message-ID} in response to this prompt will limit
21195 the query to the Message-ID header.
21197 Finally selecting ``Imap'' will interpret the query as a raw
21198 @acronym{IMAP} search query. The format of such queries can be found in
21201 If you don't like the default of searching whole messages you can
21202 customize @code{nnir-imap-default-search-key}. For example to use
21203 @acronym{IMAP} queries by default
21206 (setq nnir-imap-default-search-key "Imap")
21209 @node The gmane Engine
21210 @subsubsection The gmane Engine
21212 The @code{gmane} engine requires no configuration.
21214 Gmane queries follow a simple query language:
21217 @item Boolean query operators
21218 AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT), and XOR are supported, and brackets can be
21219 used to control operator precedence, e.g., (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux.
21220 Note that operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21223 @item Required and excluded terms
21224 + and @minus{} can be used to require or exclude terms, e.g., football
21227 @item Unicode handling
21228 The search engine converts all text to utf-8, so searching should work
21232 Common English words (like 'the' and 'a') are ignored by default. You
21233 can override this by prefixing such words with a + (e.g., +the) or
21234 enclosing the word in quotes (e.g., "the").
21238 The query can be limited to articles by a specific author using a
21239 prefix-arg. After inputting the query this will prompt for an author
21240 name (or part of a name) to match.
21242 @node The swish++ Engine
21243 @subsubsection The swish++ Engine
21245 FIXME: Say something more here.
21247 Documentation for swish++ may be found at the swish++ sourceforge page:
21248 @uref{http://swishplusplus.sourceforge.net}
21252 @item nnir-swish++-program
21253 The name of the swish++ executable. Defaults to @code{search}
21255 @item nnir-swish++-additional-switches
21256 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21257 swish++. @code{nil} by default.
21259 @item nnir-swish++-remove-prefix
21260 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish++ in order
21261 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21265 @node The swish-e Engine
21266 @subsubsection The swish-e Engine
21268 FIXME: Say something more here.
21270 Documentation for swish-e may be found at the swish-e homepage
21271 @uref{http://swish-e.org}
21275 @item nnir-swish-e-program
21276 The name of the swish-e search program. Defaults to @code{swish-e}.
21278 @item nnir-swish-e-additional-switches
21279 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21280 swish-e. @code{nil} by default.
21282 @item nnir-swish-e-remove-prefix
21283 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish-e in order
21284 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21288 @node The namazu Engine
21289 @subsubsection The namazu Engine
21291 Using the namazu engine requires creating and maintaining index files.
21292 One directory should contain all the index files, and nnir must be told
21293 where to find them by setting the @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory}
21296 To work correctly the @code{nnir-namazu-remove-prefix} variable must
21297 also be correct. This is the prefix to remove from each file name
21298 returned by Namazu in order to get a proper group name (albeit with `/'
21301 For example, suppose that Namazu returns file names such as
21302 @samp{/home/john/Mail/mail/misc/42}. For this example, use the
21303 following setting: @code{(setq nnir-namazu-remove-prefix
21304 "/home/john/Mail/")} Note the trailing slash. Removing this prefix from
21305 the directory gives @samp{mail/misc/42}. @code{nnir} knows to remove
21306 the @samp{/42} and to replace @samp{/} with @samp{.} to arrive at the
21307 correct group name @samp{mail.misc}.
21309 Extra switches may be passed to the namazu search command by setting the
21310 variable @code{nnir-namazu-additional-switches}. It is particularly
21311 important not to pass any any switches to namazu that will change the
21312 output format. Good switches to use include `--sort', `--ascending',
21313 `--early' and `--late'. Refer to the Namazu documentation for further
21314 information on valid switches.
21316 Mail must first be indexed with the `mknmz' program. Read the documentation
21317 for namazu to create a configuration file. Here is an example:
21321 package conf; # Don't remove this line!
21323 # Paths which will not be indexed. Don't use `^' or `$' anchors.
21324 $EXCLUDE_PATH = "spam|sent";
21326 # Header fields which should be searchable. case-insensitive
21327 $REMAIN_HEADER = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21329 # Searchable fields. case-insensitive
21330 $SEARCH_FIELD = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21332 # The max length of a word.
21333 $WORD_LENG_MAX = 128;
21335 # The max length of a field.
21336 $MAX_FIELD_LENGTH = 256;
21340 For this example, mail is stored in the directories @samp{~/Mail/mail/},
21341 @samp{~/Mail/lists/} and @samp{~/Mail/archive/}, so to index them go to
21342 the index directory set in @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory} and issue
21343 the following command:
21346 mknmz --mailnews ~/Mail/archive/ ~/Mail/mail/ ~/Mail/lists/
21349 For maximum searching efficiency you might want to have a cron job run
21350 this command periodically, say every four hours.
21353 @node The notmuch Engine
21354 @subsubsection The notmuch Engine
21357 @item nnir-notmuch-program
21358 The name of the notmuch search executable. Defaults to
21361 @item nnir-notmuch-additional-switches
21362 A list of strings, to be given as additional arguments to notmuch.
21364 @item nnir-notmuch-remove-prefix
21365 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by notmuch in order
21366 to get a group name (albeit with @samp{/} instead of @samp{.}). This
21367 is a regular expression.
21372 @node The hyrex Engine
21373 @subsubsection The hyrex Engine
21374 This engine is obsolete.
21376 @node Customizations
21377 @subsubsection Customizations
21381 @item nnir-method-default-engines
21382 Alist of pairs of server backends and search engines. The default associations
21389 @item nnir-ignored-newsgroups
21390 A regexp to match newsgroups in the active file that should be skipped
21391 when searching all groups on a server.
21393 @item nnir-summary-line-format
21394 The format specification to be used for lines in an nnir summary buffer.
21395 All the items from `gnus-summary-line-format' are available, along with
21396 three items unique to nnir summary buffers:
21399 %Z Search retrieval score value (integer)
21400 %G Article original full group name (string)
21401 %g Article original short group name (string)
21404 If nil (the default) this will use @code{gnus-summary-line-format}.
21406 @item nnir-retrieve-headers-override-function
21407 If non-nil, a function that retrieves article headers rather than using
21408 the gnus built-in function. This function takes an article list and
21409 group as arguments and populates the `nntp-server-buffer' with the
21410 retrieved headers. It should then return either 'nov or 'headers
21411 indicating the retrieved header format. Failure to retrieve headers
21412 should return @code{nil}
21414 If this variable is nil, or if the provided function returns nil for a
21415 search result, @code{gnus-retrieve-headers} will be called instead."
21426 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
21427 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
21428 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
21429 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
21432 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
21433 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
21434 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
21435 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
21436 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
21437 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
21438 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
21439 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
21440 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
21443 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
21444 @c E.g., adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
21445 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
21448 @subsection About mairix
21450 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
21451 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
21452 GPL@. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
21453 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
21455 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
21457 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
21458 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
21459 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
21460 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
21461 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
21462 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
21463 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
21464 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
21467 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
21468 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
21469 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
21470 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
21471 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
21472 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
21473 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
21474 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
21477 @node nnmairix requirements
21478 @subsection nnmairix requirements
21480 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
21481 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
21482 server (e.g., an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
21483 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g., via ssh.
21485 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
21486 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
21487 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
21488 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
21490 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
21491 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
21492 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
21493 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
21494 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
21495 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
21497 @node What nnmairix does
21498 @subsection What nnmairix does
21500 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
21501 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
21502 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
21503 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g., to quickly
21504 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
21505 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
21506 mails are in different folders.
21508 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
21509 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
21510 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
21511 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID@. If you check for
21512 new mail in these folders (e.g., by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
21513 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
21515 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
21516 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
21517 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
21518 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
21519 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
21520 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
21521 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
21522 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g., if you
21523 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
21524 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
21525 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
21527 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
21528 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
21529 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
21530 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
21531 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
21532 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
21533 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
21534 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
21535 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
21536 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
21537 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create, e.g., a new
21538 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
21539 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
21540 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
21541 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
21542 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
21544 @node Setting up mairix
21545 @subsection Setting up mairix
21547 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
21549 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
21550 (at least) the following entries:
21553 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
21557 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
21558 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
21559 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
21560 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
21563 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
21564 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
21565 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
21568 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
21569 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
21570 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
21571 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
21572 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
21578 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
21579 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
21580 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
21581 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
21584 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
21585 database= ... location of database file ...
21588 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
21589 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
21590 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
21592 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
21596 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
21597 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
21598 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
21601 database=~/.mairixdatabase
21604 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
21605 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
21606 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
21607 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
21608 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
21609 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
21610 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
21611 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
21612 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
21613 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
21614 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
21615 The other lines should be obvious.
21617 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
21618 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
21619 than you are used to.
21621 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
21622 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
21623 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
21625 @node Configuring nnmairix
21626 @subsection Configuring nnmairix
21628 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
21629 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
21630 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
21631 server. You will have to specify the following:
21636 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
21640 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
21641 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
21642 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
21643 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
21644 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
21645 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
21646 However, you can also create, e.g., a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
21647 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
21648 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
21649 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
21650 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might lose mail
21651 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
21652 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
21653 @code{nnimap} server here.
21656 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
21657 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
21658 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
21659 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g., on your
21660 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
21661 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
21662 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
21665 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
21666 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e., all searches which
21667 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
21671 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
21672 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e., with hidden maildir
21673 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
21674 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
21675 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
21679 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21680 @subsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21687 @kindex G b c (Group)
21688 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
21689 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
21690 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
21691 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
21694 @kindex G b s (Group)
21695 @findex nnmairix-search
21696 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
21697 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
21698 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
21701 @kindex G b m (Group)
21702 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
21703 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
21704 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
21705 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
21708 @kindex G b i (Group)
21709 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
21710 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
21711 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
21714 @kindex G b g (Group)
21715 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
21716 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
21717 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
21718 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
21722 @kindex G b q (Group)
21723 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
21724 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
21725 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
21728 @kindex G b t (Group)
21729 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
21730 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
21731 i.e., if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
21732 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
21735 @kindex G b u (Group)
21736 @findex nnmairix-update-database
21737 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
21738 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
21739 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
21740 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
21741 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
21745 @kindex G b r (Group)
21746 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
21747 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
21748 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
21751 @kindex G b d (Group)
21752 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
21753 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
21754 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
21755 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
21758 @kindex G b a (Group)
21759 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
21760 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
21761 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
21762 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
21763 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
21764 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
21765 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
21766 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
21767 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
21770 @kindex G b p (Group)
21771 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
21772 Toggle marks propagation for this group
21773 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
21777 @kindex G b o (Group)
21778 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
21779 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
21780 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
21789 @kindex $ m (Summary)
21790 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
21791 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
21792 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
21793 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
21796 @kindex $ g (Summary)
21797 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
21798 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
21799 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
21800 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
21803 @kindex $ t (Summary)
21804 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
21805 Searches thread for the current article
21806 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
21807 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
21808 current article and enabled threads.
21811 @kindex $ f (Summary)
21812 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
21813 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
21814 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
21815 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
21818 @kindex $ o (Summary)
21819 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
21820 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
21821 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that,
21822 e.g., replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
21823 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
21824 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
21825 article file name as a fallback method.
21828 @kindex $ u (Summary)
21829 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
21830 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
21831 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
21836 @node Propagating marks
21837 @subsection Propagating marks
21839 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
21840 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
21841 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
21843 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
21845 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
21846 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
21847 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
21848 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
21851 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
21852 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
21853 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
21854 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
21855 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
21856 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
21857 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
21858 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
21859 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
21860 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
21862 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
21863 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
21864 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
21865 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
21866 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
21867 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
21868 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
21870 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
21871 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
21872 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
21873 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
21874 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
21875 even more cumbersome.
21877 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
21878 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
21879 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
21881 Marks propagation is inactive by default. You can activate it for a
21882 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
21883 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
21884 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
21885 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
21886 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
21887 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
21889 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
21890 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
21891 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
21892 magically be set for the original article, too.
21894 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
21896 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
21897 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
21898 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
21899 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
21900 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
21901 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
21904 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
21905 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
21906 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
21907 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
21908 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
21909 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
21910 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
21912 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
21913 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
21914 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
21915 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
21916 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
21917 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
21918 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
21920 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e., if you
21921 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
21922 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
21923 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
21924 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
21925 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
21926 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
21927 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
21928 maildir as its file format.
21930 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
21931 If you work with this setup, just set
21932 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
21933 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
21934 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
21935 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
21936 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
21937 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
21939 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
21940 @subsection nnmairix tips and tricks
21946 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
21947 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
21948 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
21951 I use the following to check for mails:
21954 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
21956 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
21957 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
21958 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
21959 (gnus-group-list-groups))
21961 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
21964 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
21965 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
21969 Example: search group for ticked articles
21971 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
21972 articles always stay unread:
21974 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g., @samp{important}), use
21975 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
21977 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
21978 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
21980 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
21981 group? There are two options: You may simply use
21982 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
21983 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
21984 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
21985 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
21986 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
21987 e.g., by marking an article as read.
21989 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
21990 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
21991 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
21992 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
21993 snippet and the doc string for details.
21996 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
21998 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
21999 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
22000 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
22001 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
22002 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
22003 @code{nnml}, i.e., you will suddenly see groups of the form
22004 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
22005 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
22006 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
22007 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
22008 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
22009 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
22012 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
22013 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
22018 @node nnmairix caveats
22019 @subsection nnmairix caveats
22023 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
22024 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
22025 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
22026 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
22027 an example server definition:
22030 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
22033 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variable
22034 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
22035 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
22039 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
22040 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
22041 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}; this is the default). Be
22042 @emph{extra careful} if you use
22043 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are split
22044 into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as you
22045 check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
22048 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
22049 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
22052 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
22053 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
22056 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
22059 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
22060 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
22061 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
22062 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
22063 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
22064 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
22068 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
22069 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
22070 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
22071 it is gone for good.
22074 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
22075 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
22076 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
22077 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
22078 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
22079 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
22080 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
22081 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
22082 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
22085 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
22086 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
22088 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
22089 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
22090 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
22091 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
22092 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
22093 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
22094 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
22095 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
22096 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
22097 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
22098 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
22099 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
22106 @include message.texi
22107 @chapter Emacs MIME
22108 @include emacs-mime.texi
22110 @include sieve.texi
22122 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
22123 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
22124 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
22125 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
22126 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
22127 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
22128 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
22129 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
22130 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
22131 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
22132 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
22133 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
22134 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
22135 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
22136 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
22137 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
22138 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
22139 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
22140 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
22141 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
22145 @node Process/Prefix
22146 @section Process/Prefix
22147 @cindex process/prefix convention
22149 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
22150 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
22152 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
22153 command to be performed on.
22157 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
22158 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
22159 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
22160 with the current one.
22162 @vindex transient-mark-mode
22163 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
22164 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
22166 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
22167 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
22170 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
22171 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
22173 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
22176 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
22177 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
22178 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
22179 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22181 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
22182 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
22183 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
22184 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
22185 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
22186 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
22187 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
22188 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
22190 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
22191 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
22192 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
22193 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
22194 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
22198 @section Interactive
22199 @cindex interaction
22203 @item gnus-novice-user
22204 @vindex gnus-novice-user
22205 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
22206 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
22207 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
22208 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
22211 @item gnus-expert-user
22212 @vindex gnus-expert-user
22213 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
22214 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing,
22215 no matter how strange. For example, quitting Gnus, exiting a group
22216 without an update, catching up with a group, deleting expired
22217 articles, and replying by mail to a news message will not require
22220 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
22221 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
22222 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
22223 is @code{t} by default.
22225 @item gnus-interactive-exit
22226 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
22227 If non-@code{nil}, require a confirmation when exiting Gnus. If
22228 @code{quiet}, update any active summary buffers automatically without
22229 querying. The default value is @code{t}.
22233 @node Symbolic Prefixes
22234 @section Symbolic Prefixes
22235 @cindex symbolic prefixes
22237 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
22238 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
22239 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
22240 rule of 900 to the current article.
22242 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
22243 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
22244 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
22245 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
22246 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
22247 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
22248 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
22250 @kindex M-i (Summary)
22251 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
22252 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
22253 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
22254 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
22255 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
22256 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
22257 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
22258 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
22260 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
22261 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
22262 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
22264 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
22268 @node Formatting Variables
22269 @section Formatting Variables
22270 @cindex formatting variables
22272 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
22273 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
22274 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
22275 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
22276 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
22279 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
22280 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
22281 lots of percentages everywhere.
22284 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
22285 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
22286 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
22287 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
22288 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
22289 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
22290 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
22291 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
22294 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
22295 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
22296 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
22297 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
22298 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
22299 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
22300 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
22301 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
22303 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
22304 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
22306 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
22307 @findex gnus-update-format
22308 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
22309 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
22310 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
22311 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
22315 @node Formatting Basics
22316 @subsection Formatting Basics
22318 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
22319 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
22320 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
22322 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
22323 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
22324 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
22325 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
22326 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
22329 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
22330 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
22331 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
22332 less than 4 characters wide.
22334 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
22335 @samp{%&user-date;}.
22338 @node Mode Line Formatting
22339 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
22341 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
22342 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
22343 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
22344 with the following two differences:
22349 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
22352 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
22353 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
22354 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
22355 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
22356 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
22357 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
22358 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
22363 @node Advanced Formatting
22364 @subsection Advanced Formatting
22366 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
22367 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
22368 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
22369 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
22371 These are the valid modifiers:
22376 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
22380 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
22385 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
22388 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
22393 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
22396 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
22399 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
22402 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22408 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22413 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22414 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22415 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22416 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22417 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22418 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22419 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22421 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22422 last operation, padding.
22425 @node User-Defined Specs
22426 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22428 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22429 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22430 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22431 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22432 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22433 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22434 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22435 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22436 should protect against that.
22438 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22439 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22441 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22442 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22443 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22444 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22448 @node Formatting Fonts
22449 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22452 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22453 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22454 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22455 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22456 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22460 @vindex gnus-face-0
22461 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22462 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22463 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22464 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22465 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22466 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22468 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
22469 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
22470 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
22471 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22472 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22473 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22474 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22475 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22476 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22477 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22478 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22479 (in Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22480 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22481 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22484 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22487 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22488 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22489 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22491 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22492 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22493 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22494 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22495 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22496 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22497 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22499 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22500 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22501 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22504 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22505 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22507 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22508 mode-line variables.
22510 @node Positioning Point
22511 @subsection Positioning Point
22513 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22514 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22515 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22517 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22519 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22520 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22521 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22523 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22524 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22525 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22530 @subsection Tabulation
22532 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22533 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22534 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22535 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22537 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22538 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22540 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22541 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22542 This is the soft tabulator.
22544 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22545 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22546 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22549 @node Wide Characters
22550 @subsection Wide Characters
22552 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22553 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22554 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22556 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22557 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22558 these countries, that's not true.
22560 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22561 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22562 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22563 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22567 @node Window Layout
22568 @section Window Layout
22569 @cindex window layout
22571 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22573 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22574 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22575 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22576 @code{t} by default.
22578 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22579 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22581 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22582 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22583 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22586 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)))
22587 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22591 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22592 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22593 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22594 possible names is listed below.
22596 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22597 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example:
22600 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22604 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22605 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22606 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22607 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22608 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22609 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22610 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22611 size spec per split.
22613 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22614 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22615 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e., is the third or
22616 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22617 present) gets focus.
22619 Here's a more complicated example:
22622 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22623 (summary 0.25 point)
22627 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22628 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22629 occupy, not a percentage.
22631 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22632 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22633 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22634 be used as a split.
22636 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22639 (article (horizontal 1.0
22643 (summary 0.25 point)
22647 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22648 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22650 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22651 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22652 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22653 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22654 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22656 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22657 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22658 lines from the splits.
22660 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22665 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22666 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22667 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22668 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22669 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22670 size = number | frame-params
22671 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22675 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22676 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22677 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22678 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22680 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22681 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22682 @cindex window height
22683 @cindex window width
22684 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22685 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22686 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22687 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22688 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22689 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22691 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22692 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22693 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22694 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22696 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22697 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22698 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22699 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22700 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22701 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22702 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22703 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22704 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22705 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22706 configuration list.
22709 (gnus-configure-frame
22713 (article 0.3 point))
22721 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22722 @code{frame} split:
22725 (gnus-configure-frame
22728 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22730 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22731 (user-position . t)
22732 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22737 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22738 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22739 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22740 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22741 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22742 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22743 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22744 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22746 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22747 be found in its default value.
22749 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22750 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22751 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22755 (message (horizontal 1.0
22756 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22758 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22763 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22764 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22765 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22770 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22771 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22772 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22773 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22774 (name . "Message"))
22775 (message 1.0 point))))
22778 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22779 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22780 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22781 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22782 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22785 (gnus-add-configuration
22786 '(article (vertical 1.0
22788 (summary .25 point)
22792 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22793 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22794 Gnus has been loaded.
22796 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22797 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22798 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22799 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22800 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22802 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22803 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22804 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22807 @subsection Window Configuration Names
22809 Here's a list of most of the currently known window configurations,
22810 and when they're used:
22817 Entering a group and showing only the summary.
22820 Selecting an article.
22826 Browsing groups from the server buffer.
22829 Composing a (new) message.
22832 Showing only the article buffer.
22835 Editing an article.
22838 Editing group parameters and the like.
22841 Editing a server definition.
22844 Composing a news message.
22847 Replying or following up an article without yanking the text.
22850 Forwarding a message.
22853 Replying or following up an article with yanking the text.
22856 Bouncing a message.
22859 Sending an article to an external process.
22862 Sending a bug report.
22865 Displaying the score trace.
22868 Displaying the score words.
22871 Displaying the split trace.
22873 @item compose-bounce
22874 Composing a bounce message.
22877 Previewing a @acronym{MIME} part.
22882 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22886 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22887 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22902 (gnus-add-configuration
22905 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22907 (summary 0.16 point)
22910 (gnus-add-configuration
22913 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22914 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22920 @node Faces and Fonts
22921 @section Faces and Fonts
22926 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22927 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22928 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22933 @section Mode Lines
22936 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22937 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22938 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22939 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22940 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22941 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22942 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22945 @cindex display-time
22947 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22948 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22949 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22950 to display (e.g., the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22951 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22952 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22953 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22954 additional elements on the mode line (e.g., a clock), you should modify
22957 @c Hook written by Francesco Potortì <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22959 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22960 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22962 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22963 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22964 (length display-time-string)))))
22967 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22968 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22969 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22970 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22971 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22974 @node Highlighting and Menus
22975 @section Highlighting and Menus
22977 @cindex highlighting
22980 @vindex gnus-visual
22981 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22982 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22983 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22986 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22987 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22990 @item group-highlight
22991 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22992 @item summary-highlight
22993 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22994 @item article-highlight
22995 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22997 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22999 Create menus in the group buffer.
23001 Create menus in the summary buffers.
23003 Create menus in the article buffer.
23005 Create menus in the browse buffer.
23007 Create menus in the server buffer.
23009 Create menus in the score buffers.
23011 Create menus in all buffers.
23014 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
23015 buffers, you could say something like:
23018 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
23021 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
23024 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
23027 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
23028 in all Gnus buffers.
23030 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
23033 @item gnus-mouse-face
23034 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
23035 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
23036 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
23040 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
23044 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
23045 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
23046 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
23048 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
23049 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
23050 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
23052 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
23053 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
23054 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
23056 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
23057 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
23058 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
23060 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
23061 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
23062 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
23064 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
23065 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
23066 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
23076 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
23077 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
23078 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
23079 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
23080 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
23082 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
23083 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
23084 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
23086 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
23087 been idle for thirty minutes:
23090 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
23093 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
23097 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
23100 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
23101 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
23102 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23104 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
23105 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
23106 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
23107 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23109 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
23110 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
23111 @var{idle} minutes.
23113 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
23114 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
23117 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
23118 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
23119 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
23121 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
23122 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
23123 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
23124 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
23126 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
23127 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23129 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
23131 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
23134 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
23135 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
23136 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
23137 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
23138 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
23139 @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
23140 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
23141 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
23142 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
23143 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
23145 @findex gnus-demon-init
23146 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
23147 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
23148 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
23149 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
23150 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
23152 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
23153 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
23154 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
23162 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
23163 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
23164 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
23166 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
23167 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
23168 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
23169 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
23170 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
23171 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
23172 @code{undo} function.
23174 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
23175 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
23176 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
23177 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
23178 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
23179 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
23180 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
23181 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
23182 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
23183 never be totally undoable.
23185 @findex gnus-undo-mode
23186 @vindex gnus-use-undo
23188 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
23189 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
23190 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
23191 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
23195 @node Predicate Specifiers
23196 @section Predicate Specifiers
23197 @cindex predicate specifiers
23199 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
23200 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
23201 to type all that much.
23203 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
23208 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
23209 gnus-article-unread-p)
23212 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
23213 functions all take one parameter.
23215 @findex gnus-make-predicate
23216 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
23217 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
23218 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
23223 @section Moderation
23226 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
23227 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
23228 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
23231 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
23235 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
23238 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
23240 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
23245 You split your incoming mail by matching on
23246 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
23247 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
23250 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
23251 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
23254 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
23255 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
23259 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
23262 (setq gnus-moderated-list
23263 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
23267 @node Fetching a Group
23268 @section Fetching a Group
23269 @cindex fetching a group
23271 @findex gnus-fetch-group
23272 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
23273 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
23274 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
23275 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
23276 It takes the group name as a parameter.
23279 @node Image Enhancements
23280 @section Image Enhancements
23282 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
23283 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
23284 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
23287 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
23288 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
23289 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
23290 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
23291 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
23292 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
23300 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
23301 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
23302 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
23306 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
23307 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
23308 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
23316 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
23317 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
23318 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
23319 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
23320 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
23321 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
23322 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
23323 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
23324 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
23325 @code{display} program.
23327 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
23328 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
23329 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
23330 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
23331 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
23332 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
23333 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
23334 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
23336 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
23337 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
23338 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
23339 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
23340 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
23341 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
23343 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
23351 @vindex gnus-x-face
23352 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
23353 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
23354 default colors are black and white.
23356 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
23357 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
23358 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
23359 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
23360 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
23361 XEmacs. Here are examples:
23364 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
23365 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23366 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
23367 (png . (:ascent 80))))
23369 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
23370 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23371 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
23372 (png . (:relief -2))))
23375 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
23376 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
23377 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
23378 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
23379 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
23380 @samp{libcompface} library.
23383 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
23384 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
23385 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
23386 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
23387 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
23388 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
23390 @findex gnus-random-x-face
23391 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
23392 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
23393 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23394 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23395 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23396 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23397 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23398 header data as a string.
23400 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23401 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23402 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23403 randomly generated data.
23405 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23406 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23407 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23408 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23409 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23411 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23412 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23415 (setq message-required-news-headers
23416 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23417 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23420 Using the last function would be something like this:
23423 (setq message-required-news-headers
23424 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23425 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23426 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23427 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23435 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23437 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23438 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23439 represent the author of the message.
23442 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23443 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23444 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23447 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23448 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23450 Viewing a @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23453 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23455 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23457 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23458 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23460 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23461 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23462 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23464 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23465 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23466 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23467 converts the file to Face format by using the
23468 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23470 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23471 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23474 (setq message-required-news-headers
23475 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23476 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23477 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23482 @subsection Smileys
23487 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23492 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23493 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23495 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23496 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23499 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23502 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23503 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23504 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23505 text and maps that to file names.
23507 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23508 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23509 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23510 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23511 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23514 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
23519 @vindex smiley-style
23520 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
23521 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
23522 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
23523 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
23526 @item smiley-data-directory
23527 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23528 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
23529 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
23531 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23532 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23533 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23547 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23548 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23549 over your shoulder as you read news.
23551 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23560 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23561 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23562 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23563 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23564 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23565 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23566 @code{GIF} formats.
23569 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23570 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23571 point your Web browser at
23572 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23574 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23575 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23577 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23578 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23581 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23582 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23583 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23584 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23586 @vindex gnus-picon-properties
23587 The value of the variable @code{gnus-picon-properties} is a list of
23588 properties applied to picons.
23590 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23594 @item gnus-picon-databases
23595 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23596 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23597 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23598 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23599 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23601 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23602 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23603 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23604 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23606 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23607 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23608 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23609 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23611 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23612 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23613 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23614 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23615 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23617 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23618 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23619 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23620 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23622 @item gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23623 @vindex gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23624 If non-@code{nil} (which is the default), don't display picons for
23625 things like @samp{.net} and @samp{.de}, which aren't usually very
23631 @subsection Gravatars
23635 \include{gravatars}
23639 A gravatar is an image registered to an e-mail address.
23641 You can submit yours on-line at @uref{http://www.gravatar.com}.
23643 The following variables offer control over how things are displayed.
23647 @item gnus-gravatar-size
23648 @vindex gnus-gravatar-size
23649 The size in pixels of gravatars. Gravatars are always square, so one
23650 number for the size is enough.
23652 @item gnus-gravatar-properties
23653 @vindex gnus-gravatar-properties
23654 List of image properties applied to Gravatar images.
23656 @item gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23657 @vindex gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23658 Regexp that matches mail addresses or names of people of which avatars
23659 should not be displayed, or @code{nil}. It default to the value of
23660 @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (@pxref{X-Face}).
23664 If you want to see them in the From field, set:
23666 (setq gnus-treat-from-gravatar 'head)
23669 If you want to see them in the Cc and To fields, set:
23672 (setq gnus-treat-mail-gravatar 'head)
23677 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23680 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23681 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23682 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23683 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23684 unusual directory structure.
23686 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23687 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23688 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23693 @subsubsection Toolbar
23697 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23698 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23699 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23700 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23701 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23702 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23703 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23704 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23706 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23707 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23708 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23709 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23710 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23711 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23713 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23714 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23715 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23717 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23718 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23719 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23721 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23722 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23723 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23734 @node Fuzzy Matching
23735 @section Fuzzy Matching
23736 @cindex fuzzy matching
23738 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23739 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23741 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23742 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23743 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23745 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23746 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23747 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23748 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23749 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23752 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23753 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23757 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23759 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23760 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23761 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23762 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23763 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23764 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23765 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23766 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23769 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23770 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23771 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23772 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23773 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23774 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23776 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23779 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23780 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23781 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23782 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23785 @node The problem of spam
23786 @subsection The problem of spam
23788 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23789 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23791 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23793 First, some background on spam.
23795 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23796 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23797 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23798 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23799 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23800 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23801 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23802 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23803 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23805 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23806 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23807 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23808 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23809 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23810 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23811 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23812 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23813 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23816 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23817 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23818 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23819 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23820 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23821 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23822 from Bulgarian IPs.
23824 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23825 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23826 etc.)@: or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.)@: from contacting
23827 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23829 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23830 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23831 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23832 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23834 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23835 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23836 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23837 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23838 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23839 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23840 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23841 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23842 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23844 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23845 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23846 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23847 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23848 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23849 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23850 down for some time because of the incident.
23852 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23853 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23854 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23855 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23856 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23857 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23858 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23859 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23860 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23861 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23862 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23864 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23865 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23866 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23867 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23868 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23869 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23870 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23873 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23874 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23878 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23880 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23881 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23883 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23884 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23885 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23886 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23887 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23888 part of the mail address.)
23891 (setq message-default-news-headers
23892 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23895 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23896 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23900 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23901 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23902 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23907 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23908 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23909 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23910 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23912 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23913 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23914 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23915 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23916 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23917 your fancy split rule in this way:
23922 (to "larsi" "misc")
23926 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23927 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23928 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23929 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23930 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23932 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23933 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23934 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23935 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23937 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23941 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23942 @cindex SpamAssassin
23943 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23946 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23947 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23948 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23949 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23950 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23951 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23952 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23954 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23955 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23956 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23959 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23960 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23961 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23962 Specifiers}) follow.
23966 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23970 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23973 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23974 the mail contain, e.g., a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23975 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23978 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23982 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23985 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23986 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23990 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23991 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23992 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23993 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23996 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23998 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
24002 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
24003 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
24007 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
24008 downloaded by default. You need to set
24009 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
24010 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
24012 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
24013 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
24014 spam. And here is the nifty function:
24017 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
24018 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
24020 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
24021 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
24025 @subsection Hashcash
24028 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
24029 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
24030 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
24031 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
24032 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
24034 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
24035 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
24036 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
24037 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
24038 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
24039 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
24040 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
24041 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
24042 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
24043 one of them separately.
24046 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
24047 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
24048 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
24049 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
24050 need to install to use this feature, see
24051 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
24052 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
24054 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
24055 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
24056 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
24059 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
24062 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
24066 @item hashcash-default-payment
24067 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
24068 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
24069 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
24072 @item hashcash-payment-alist
24073 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
24074 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
24075 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
24076 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
24077 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
24078 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
24079 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
24080 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
24082 @item hashcash-path
24083 @vindex hashcash-path
24084 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
24085 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
24086 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
24087 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
24088 when you generate hashcash payments.
24092 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
24093 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
24094 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
24095 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
24096 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
24097 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
24098 Hashcash Payments}).
24101 @section Spam Package
24102 @cindex spam filtering
24105 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
24106 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
24107 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
24108 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
24111 * Spam Package Introduction::
24112 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
24113 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
24114 * Spam and Ham Processors::
24115 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
24117 * Extending the Spam package::
24118 * Spam Statistics Package::
24121 @node Spam Package Introduction
24122 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
24123 @cindex spam filtering
24124 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
24127 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
24128 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
24130 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
24131 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
24133 @cindex spam-initialize
24134 @vindex spam-use-stat
24135 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
24136 @code{spam-initialize}:
24142 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
24143 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
24144 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
24145 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
24146 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
24148 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
24149 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
24151 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
24152 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
24154 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
24155 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
24156 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
24157 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
24158 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
24160 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
24161 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
24162 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
24163 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
24164 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
24167 @cindex spam back ends
24168 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
24169 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
24170 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
24171 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
24172 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24174 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
24175 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
24177 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
24178 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
24179 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
24180 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
24181 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
24182 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
24183 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
24185 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
24186 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
24187 point, the Spam package does several things:
24189 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
24190 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
24191 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
24192 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
24193 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
24194 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
24195 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
24196 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
24199 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
24200 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
24208 @kindex $ (Summary)
24209 @kindex M-d (Summary)
24210 @kindex S x (Summary)
24211 @kindex M s x (Summary)
24212 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24213 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24214 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
24215 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
24219 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
24220 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
24222 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
24223 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
24224 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
24225 to be processed as ham by setting
24226 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
24227 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
24229 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24230 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24231 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
24232 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
24233 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
24234 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
24235 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
24236 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
24237 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
24238 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
24239 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
24240 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
24242 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
24243 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
24244 want each article to be processed only once, load the
24245 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
24246 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
24247 Configuration Examples}.
24249 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
24250 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
24251 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
24252 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
24254 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
24255 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
24257 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
24258 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
24259 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
24261 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
24262 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
24263 @cindex spam filtering
24264 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
24267 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
24268 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
24269 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
24270 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
24271 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
24277 @vindex spam-split-group
24279 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
24280 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
24281 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
24282 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
24283 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
24284 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
24285 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
24286 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
24287 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
24289 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
24291 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
24292 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
24293 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
24294 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to
24295 @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can ``scan''
24296 the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only retrieves
24297 the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells it to
24298 retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by default
24299 because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
24300 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Client-Side
24303 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
24304 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
24305 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
24306 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
24307 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
24308 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
24309 ends, and the following split rule:
24312 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24313 (any "ding" "ding")
24315 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24320 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
24321 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
24322 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
24323 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
24324 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
24325 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
24327 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
24328 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
24329 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
24330 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
24335 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
24336 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24337 (any "ding" "ding")
24338 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
24340 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24345 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
24346 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
24347 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
24348 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
24349 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
24350 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
24351 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
24353 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24354 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24355 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24356 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24358 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
24359 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
24362 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
24363 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
24365 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
24366 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
24367 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
24368 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24370 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24371 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24372 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24373 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
24375 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
24376 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
24377 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
24379 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
24380 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
24381 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
24382 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
24383 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
24384 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
24385 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
24387 @node Spam and Ham Processors
24388 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
24389 @cindex spam filtering
24390 @cindex spam filtering variables
24391 @cindex spam variables
24394 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
24395 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
24396 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
24397 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
24398 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
24399 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
24400 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
24402 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
24403 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
24404 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
24405 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
24407 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24408 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
24409 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
24410 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
24411 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
24412 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
24413 by customizing the corresponding variable
24414 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
24415 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
24416 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
24417 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
24418 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
24419 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
24420 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
24423 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
24425 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
24426 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
24427 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
24428 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
24429 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
24430 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
24431 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
24432 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
24433 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
24434 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
24435 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
24436 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
24437 processor which will study them as spam samples.
24439 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
24440 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
24441 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
24442 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
24443 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
24444 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
24445 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
24446 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
24449 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24450 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
24451 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
24452 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
24453 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
24454 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
24455 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24460 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24461 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24462 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24463 you really want to.
24466 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24467 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24468 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24469 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24470 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24471 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24474 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24475 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24476 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24477 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24478 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24479 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24480 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24481 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24482 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24483 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24484 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24485 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24486 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24487 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24488 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24490 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24491 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24493 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24494 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24495 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24497 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24498 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24500 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24501 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24502 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24503 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24504 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24506 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24507 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24508 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24509 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24510 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24513 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24514 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24515 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24516 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24517 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24518 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24519 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24520 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24521 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24522 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24523 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24524 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24525 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24527 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24528 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24530 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24531 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24534 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24535 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24536 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24537 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24538 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24539 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24540 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24542 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24543 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24544 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24545 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24547 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24548 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24549 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24550 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24551 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24552 from the mail server.
24554 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24555 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24556 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24557 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24559 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24560 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24561 @cindex spam filtering
24562 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24563 @cindex spam configuration examples
24566 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24568 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24570 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24571 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24572 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24576 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24578 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24579 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24580 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24581 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24582 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24583 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24584 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24585 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24586 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24587 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
24588 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24589 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24590 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24591 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24592 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24593 (any "ding" "ding")
24594 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24596 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24599 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24601 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24602 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24603 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24604 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24606 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24608 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24609 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24610 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24611 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24612 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24614 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24615 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24617 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24619 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24620 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24622 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24623 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24624 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24626 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24628 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24629 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24631 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24632 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24633 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24635 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24636 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24637 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24638 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24640 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24641 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24642 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24646 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24647 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24649 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24650 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24651 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24652 i.e., to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24653 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24654 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24655 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24656 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24657 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24659 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24660 does most of the job for me:
24663 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24664 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24665 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24666 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24667 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24668 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24669 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24674 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24676 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24677 (i.e., legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24678 bogofilter or DCC).
24680 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24681 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24682 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24683 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24684 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24685 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24686 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24688 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24689 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24690 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e., chars) makes finding
24691 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24692 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24693 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24695 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24697 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24698 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24699 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24700 @samp{training.spam}.
24703 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24705 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24707 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24708 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24709 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24713 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24716 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24717 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24718 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e., the article numbers are
24719 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24720 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24722 @node Spam Back Ends
24723 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24724 @cindex spam back ends
24726 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24727 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24728 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24729 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24733 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24734 * BBDB Whitelists::
24735 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24736 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24738 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24740 * SpamAssassin back end::
24741 * ifile spam filtering::
24742 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24746 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24747 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24748 @cindex spam filtering
24749 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24750 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24753 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24755 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24756 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24757 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24758 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24763 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24765 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24766 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24767 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24768 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24769 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24773 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24775 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24776 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24777 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24781 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24783 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24784 customizing the group parameters or the
24785 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24786 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24787 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24791 Instead of the obsolete
24792 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24793 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24794 the same way, we promise.
24798 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24800 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24801 customizing the group parameters or the
24802 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24803 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24804 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24809 Instead of the obsolete
24810 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24811 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24812 the same way, we promise.
24816 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24817 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24818 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24819 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24820 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24822 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24823 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24824 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24825 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24827 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24828 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24829 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24830 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24831 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24832 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24834 @node BBDB Whitelists
24835 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24836 @cindex spam filtering
24837 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24838 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24841 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24843 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24844 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24845 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24846 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24847 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24848 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24849 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24853 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24855 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24856 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24857 unless the sender is in the BBDB@. Use with care. Only sender
24858 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24859 classified as spammers.
24861 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24862 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24863 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24864 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24869 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24871 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24872 customizing the group parameters or the
24873 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24874 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24875 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24880 Instead of the obsolete
24881 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24882 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24883 the same way, we promise.
24887 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24888 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24889 @cindex spam reporting
24890 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24891 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24894 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24896 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24897 customizing the group parameters or the
24898 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24899 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24900 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24903 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24907 Instead of the obsolete
24908 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24909 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24910 same way, we promise.
24914 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24916 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24917 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24918 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24919 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24920 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24924 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24926 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24927 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24928 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24932 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24933 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24934 @cindex spam filtering
24935 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24938 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24940 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24941 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24942 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24943 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24944 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24945 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24950 @subsubsection Blackholes
24951 @cindex spam filtering
24952 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24955 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24957 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24958 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24959 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24960 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24961 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24962 contains outdated servers.
24964 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24965 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24966 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24967 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24968 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24969 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24973 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24975 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24979 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24981 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24982 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24986 @defvar spam-use-dig
24988 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24989 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24993 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24994 ham processor for blackholes.
24996 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24997 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24998 @cindex spam filtering
24999 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
25002 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
25004 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
25005 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
25006 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
25007 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
25008 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
25009 message is spam or ham, respectively.
25013 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
25015 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25016 the message, positively identify it as spam.
25020 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
25022 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25023 the message, positively identify it as ham.
25027 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
25028 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
25031 @subsubsection Bogofilter
25032 @cindex spam filtering
25033 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
25036 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
25038 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25041 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
25042 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
25043 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
25044 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
25045 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
25046 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
25048 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
25049 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
25052 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
25053 processing will be turned off.
25055 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
25064 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
25065 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
25068 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
25070 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25071 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
25072 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
25073 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
25074 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
25075 installation documents for details.
25077 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
25081 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
25082 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25083 customizing the group parameters or the
25084 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25085 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
25086 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
25090 Instead of the obsolete
25091 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25092 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25093 the same way, we promise.
25096 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
25097 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25098 customizing the group parameters or the
25099 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25100 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25101 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
25102 of non-spam messages.
25106 Instead of the obsolete
25107 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25108 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25109 the same way, we promise.
25112 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
25114 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
25115 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
25116 database directory.
25120 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
25121 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25122 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
25123 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
25124 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
25125 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
25127 @node SpamAssassin back end
25128 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
25129 @cindex spam filtering
25130 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
25133 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
25135 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
25137 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
25138 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
25139 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
25140 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
25143 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
25144 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
25145 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
25146 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
25149 You should not enable this if you use
25150 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
25154 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
25156 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
25157 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
25159 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
25163 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
25165 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
25166 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
25167 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
25168 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
25172 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
25173 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
25174 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
25175 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
25176 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
25177 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
25178 to test this functionality.
25180 @node ifile spam filtering
25181 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
25182 @cindex spam filtering
25183 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
25186 @defvar spam-use-ifile
25188 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
25189 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
25193 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
25195 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
25196 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
25197 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
25201 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
25203 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
25204 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
25205 the default value of @samp{spam}.
25208 @defvar spam-ifile-database
25210 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
25211 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
25215 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
25216 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25217 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
25218 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
25221 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
25222 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
25223 @cindex spam filtering
25224 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
25228 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
25229 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
25230 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
25231 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
25232 spam-stat dictionary}.
25234 @defvar spam-use-stat
25238 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
25239 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25240 customizing the group parameters or the
25241 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25242 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
25243 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
25247 Instead of the obsolete
25248 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25249 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25250 the same way, we promise.
25253 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
25254 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25255 customizing the group parameters or the
25256 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25257 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25258 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
25259 of non-spam messages.
25263 Instead of the obsolete
25264 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25265 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25266 the same way, we promise.
25269 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
25270 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
25271 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
25272 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
25273 @code{spam-split} are provided.
25276 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
25277 @cindex spam filtering
25281 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
25282 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
25283 installed separately.
25285 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
25286 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
25287 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
25288 mail as a spam mail or not.
25290 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
25291 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
25292 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
25294 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
25297 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
25298 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
25299 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
25300 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
25301 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
25302 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
25303 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
25304 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
25307 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
25308 spam-split-group "Junk"
25309 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
25310 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
25311 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
25314 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
25315 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
25319 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
25320 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
25321 user's PATH@. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
25325 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
25326 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
25327 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
25328 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
25329 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
25330 database to live somewhere special, set
25331 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
25334 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
25335 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
25336 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
25337 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
25338 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
25339 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
25340 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
25341 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
25342 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
25343 @xref{Spam Package}.
25345 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
25346 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25347 customizing the group parameter or the
25348 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25349 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
25350 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
25354 Instead of the obsolete
25355 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25356 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25357 the same way, we promise.
25360 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
25361 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25362 customizing the group parameter or the
25363 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25364 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
25365 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
25370 Instead of the obsolete
25371 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25372 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25373 the same way, we promise.
25376 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
25377 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
25380 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
25381 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
25382 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
25384 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
25385 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
25386 (e.g., because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
25387 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
25388 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
25389 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
25391 @node Extending the Spam package
25392 @subsection Extending the Spam package
25393 @cindex spam filtering
25394 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
25395 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
25397 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
25398 incoming mail, provide the following:
25406 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
25407 "True if blackbox should be used.")
25410 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
25412 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
25413 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
25414 register/unregister routines as a start, or other register/unregister
25415 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
25416 register/unregister spam and ham.
25421 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
25422 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
25423 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
25424 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
25429 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
25436 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
25437 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
25439 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
25440 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
25441 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
25442 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
25445 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
25446 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
25447 Only applicable to spam groups.")
25449 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
25450 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
25451 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25460 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25461 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25463 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25464 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25465 variable customization.
25469 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25471 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25472 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25474 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25475 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25481 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25483 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25484 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25485 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25488 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25490 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25491 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25495 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25497 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25498 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25499 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25503 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25505 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25506 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25507 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25510 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25512 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25513 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25517 @code{spam-install-backend}
25519 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25520 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25521 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25524 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25526 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25527 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25528 never install such a back end.
25533 @node Spam Statistics Package
25534 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25535 @cindex Paul Graham
25536 @cindex Graham, Paul
25537 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25538 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25539 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25541 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25542 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25543 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25544 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25545 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25546 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25547 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25548 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25549 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25552 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25553 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25554 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25555 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25556 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25557 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25558 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25559 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25561 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25562 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25563 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25565 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25566 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25567 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25568 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25569 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25572 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25573 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25574 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25577 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25578 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25580 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25581 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25582 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25583 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25584 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25586 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25587 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25588 per mail. Use the following:
25590 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25591 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25592 is treated as one spam mail.
25595 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25596 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25597 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25600 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25601 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25602 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25603 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25604 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25605 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25607 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25608 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25609 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25610 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25611 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25614 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25615 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25616 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25617 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25620 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25621 reset the dictionary.
25623 @defun spam-stat-reset
25624 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25627 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25628 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25629 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25630 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25631 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25632 only non-spam mails.
25634 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25635 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25636 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25639 @defun spam-stat-save
25640 Save the dictionary.
25643 @defvar spam-stat-file
25644 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25645 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25648 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25649 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25651 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25652 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25654 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25657 (require 'spam-stat)
25661 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25664 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25665 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25666 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25667 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25669 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25670 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25671 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25672 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25675 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25676 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25680 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25681 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25684 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25685 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25686 expression are considered potential spam.
25689 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25690 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25691 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25695 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25696 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25697 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25698 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25699 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25702 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25703 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25704 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25708 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25709 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25710 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25711 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25712 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25716 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25717 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25718 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25719 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25724 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25725 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25727 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25729 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25730 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25731 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25734 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25735 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25736 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25739 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25740 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25741 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25742 already been processed as non-spam.
25745 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25746 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25747 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25748 been processed as spam.
25751 @defun spam-stat-save
25752 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25753 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25756 @defun spam-stat-load
25757 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25758 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25761 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25762 Return the spam score for a word.
25765 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25766 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25769 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25770 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25771 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25774 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25775 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25778 (require 'spam-stat)
25782 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25785 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25786 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25787 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25788 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25789 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25790 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25791 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25792 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25793 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25794 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25795 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25796 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25797 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25798 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25801 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25804 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25805 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25806 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25807 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25808 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25809 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25812 @node The Gnus Registry
25813 @section The Gnus Registry
25818 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
25819 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
25820 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
25821 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
25822 features are pretty cool.
25824 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
25825 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
25829 Split messages to their parent
25831 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
25832 the sender in addition to the Message-ID@. Several strategies are
25836 Refer to messages by ID
25838 Commands like @code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article} can take
25839 advantage of the registry to jump to the referred article, regardless
25840 of the group the message is in.
25843 Store custom flags and keywords
25845 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
25846 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
25847 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
25851 Store arbitrary data
25853 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
25854 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
25855 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
25859 * Gnus Registry Setup::
25860 * Registry Article Refer Method::
25861 * Fancy splitting to parent::
25862 * Store custom flags and keywords::
25863 * Store arbitrary data::
25866 @node Gnus Registry Setup
25867 @subsection Gnus Registry Setup
25869 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
25872 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500)
25874 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25877 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
25878 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
25879 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.)@: so
25880 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
25881 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
25883 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
25884 what they do before you copy them blindly).
25888 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
25889 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
25893 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
25894 ;; this is the default
25895 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
25898 They say: keep a lot of messages around, track messages by sender and
25899 subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when the registry splits
25900 incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where messages should go
25901 if there's more than one possibility. In addition, the registry
25902 should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'', ``nnrss'',
25903 ``spam'', or ``train.''
25905 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
25906 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
25907 the general settings.
25909 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
25910 The groups that will not be followed by
25911 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
25912 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
25913 By default any group name that ends with ``delayed'', ``drafts'',
25914 ``queue'', or ``INBOX'', belongs to the nnmairix backend, or contains
25915 the word ``archive'' is not followed.
25918 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
25919 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
25920 registry will keep.
25923 @defvar gnus-registry-max-pruned-entries
25924 The maximum number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries
25925 the registry will keep after pruning.
25928 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
25929 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions. By
25930 default the file name is @code{.gnus.registry.eioio} in the same
25931 directory as your @code{.newsrc.eld}.
25934 @node Registry Article Refer Method
25935 @subsection Fetching by @code{Message-ID} Using the Registry
25937 The registry knows how to map each @code{Message-ID} to the group it's
25938 in. This can be leveraged to enhance the ``article refer method'',
25939 the thing that tells Gnus how to look up an article given its
25940 Message-ID (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25943 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
25945 The @code{nnregistry} refer method does exactly that. It has the
25946 advantage that an article may be found regardless of the group it's
25947 in---provided its @code{Message-ID} is known to the registry. It can
25948 be enabled by augmenting the start-up file with something along these
25952 ;; Keep enough entries to have a good hit rate when referring to an
25953 ;; article using the registry. Use long group names so that Gnus
25954 ;; knows where the article is.
25955 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500)
25957 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25959 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
25962 (nnweb "gmane" (nnweb-type gmane))))
25965 The example above instructs Gnus to first look up the article in the
25966 current group, or, alternatively, using the registry, and finally, if
25967 all else fails, using Gmane.
25969 @node Fancy splitting to parent
25970 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
25972 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
25974 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
25975 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
25976 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
25979 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
25980 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
25981 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
25982 have to put a rule like this:
25985 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
25987 ;; split to parent: you need this
25988 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
25990 ;; other rules, as an example
25996 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
25997 following variables.
25999 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
26000 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
26001 Customize interface. By default it's @code{(subject sender recipient)},
26002 which may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large
26003 and people don't stick to the same groups.
26005 When you decide to stop tracking any of those extra data, you can use
26006 the command @code{gnus-registry-remove-extra-data} to purge it from
26007 the existing registry entries.
26010 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
26011 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
26012 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
26013 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
26014 the majority of matches or on the first found. I find @code{majority}
26018 @node Store custom flags and keywords
26019 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
26021 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
26022 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
26023 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
26025 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
26026 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
26027 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
26028 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
26029 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
26030 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
26032 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
26033 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
26034 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
26038 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
26039 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
26040 will offer the available marks for completion.
26043 You can use @code{defalias} to install a summary line formatting
26044 function that will show the registry marks. There are two flavors of
26045 this function, either showing the marks as single characters, using
26046 their @code{:char} property, or showing the marks as full strings.
26049 ;; show the marks as single characters (see the :char property in
26050 ;; `gnus-registry-marks'):
26051 ;; (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-M 'gnus-registry-article-marks-to-chars)
26053 ;; show the marks by name (see `gnus-registry-marks'):
26054 ;; (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-M 'gnus-registry-article-marks-to-names)
26058 @node Store arbitrary data
26059 @subsection Store arbitrary data
26061 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
26062 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
26065 @defun gnus-registry-set-id-key (id key value)
26066 Store @code{value} under @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26069 @defun gnus-registry-get-id-key (id key)
26070 Get the data under @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26073 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
26074 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
26075 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
26076 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
26077 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
26082 @section Interaction with other modes
26087 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
26088 buffers. It is enabled with
26090 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
26095 @findex gnus-dired-attach
26096 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
26097 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
26098 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
26101 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
26102 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
26103 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
26107 @findex gnus-dired-print
26108 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
26109 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
26112 @node Various Various
26113 @section Various Various
26119 @item gnus-home-directory
26120 @vindex gnus-home-directory
26121 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
26122 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
26124 @item gnus-directory
26125 @vindex gnus-directory
26126 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
26127 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
26128 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
26130 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
26131 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
26132 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
26133 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
26135 @item gnus-default-directory
26136 @vindex gnus-default-directory
26137 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
26138 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
26139 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
26140 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
26141 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
26142 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
26145 @vindex gnus-verbose
26146 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
26147 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
26148 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
26149 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
26150 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
26152 @item gnus-verbose-backends
26153 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
26154 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
26155 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
26157 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26158 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26159 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
26160 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
26161 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
26162 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
26163 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
26164 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
26165 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
26166 displayed in the echo area.
26168 @item nnheader-max-head-length
26169 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
26170 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
26171 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
26172 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
26173 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
26174 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
26175 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
26176 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
26177 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
26179 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
26180 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
26181 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
26182 read when doing the operation described above.
26184 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26185 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26187 @cindex invalid characters in file names
26188 @cindex characters in file names
26189 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
26190 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
26191 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
26195 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26200 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
26201 Windows (phooey) systems.
26203 @item gnus-hidden-properties
26204 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
26205 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
26206 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
26207 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
26209 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
26210 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
26211 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
26212 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
26213 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
26215 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
26216 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
26217 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
26219 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26220 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26222 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
26223 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
26224 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
26225 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
26228 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
26230 @item gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26231 @vindex gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26232 Groups in which links in html articles are considered all safe. The
26233 value may be a regexp matching those groups, a list of group names, or
26234 @code{nil}. This overrides @code{mm-w3m-safe-url-regexp}. The default
26235 value is @code{"\\`nnrss[+:]"}. This is effective only when emacs-w3m
26236 renders html articles, i.e., in the case @code{mm-text-html-renderer} is
26237 set to @code{w3m}. @xref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization,
26238 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}.
26245 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
26246 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
26248 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
26250 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
26256 Not because of victories @*
26259 but for the common sunshine,@*
26261 the largess of the spring.
26265 but for the day's work done@*
26266 as well as I was able;@*
26267 not for a seat upon the dais@*
26268 but at the common table.@*
26273 @chapter Appendices
26276 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
26277 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
26278 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
26279 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
26280 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
26281 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
26282 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
26283 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
26284 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
26291 @cindex installing under XEmacs
26293 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
26294 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
26295 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
26296 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
26297 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print},
26298 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
26305 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
26306 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
26308 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
26309 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
26310 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
26311 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
26312 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
26314 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
26315 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
26316 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
26317 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
26318 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
26319 appropriate name, don't you think?)
26321 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
26322 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
26323 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
26324 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
26327 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
26328 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
26329 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
26330 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
26331 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
26332 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
26333 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
26334 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
26338 @node Gnus Versions
26339 @subsection Gnus Versions
26341 @cindex September Gnus
26343 @cindex Quassia Gnus
26344 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
26348 @cindex Gnus versions
26350 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
26351 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
26352 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
26354 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
26355 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
26357 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
26358 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
26360 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
26361 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
26363 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
26364 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
26367 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
26368 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
26370 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
26372 On April 19, 2010 Gnus development was moved to Git. See
26373 http://git.gnus.org for details (http://www.gnus.org will be updated
26374 with the information when possible).
26376 On the January 31th 2012, Ma Gnus was begun.
26378 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name---``(ding)
26379 Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
26380 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'', ``Ma Gnus''---don't
26381 panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly.
26382 Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of
26383 its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to
26390 What's the point of Gnus?
26392 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
26393 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
26394 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
26395 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
26396 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
26397 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
26398 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
26399 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
26400 keep track of millions of people who post?
26402 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
26403 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
26404 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
26405 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
26406 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
26407 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
26408 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
26409 every one of you to explore and invent.
26411 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
26412 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
26415 @node Compatibility
26416 @subsection Compatibility
26418 @cindex compatibility
26419 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
26420 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
26421 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
26426 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
26430 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
26433 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
26436 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
26437 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
26438 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
26439 important variables have their values copied into their global
26440 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
26441 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
26443 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
26444 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
26445 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
26446 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
26447 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
26451 @cindex highlighting
26452 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
26453 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
26454 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
26455 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
26456 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
26457 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
26460 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
26461 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
26462 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
26463 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
26465 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
26466 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
26467 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
26468 to stop doing it the old way.
26470 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
26472 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26474 @cindex reporting bugs
26476 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
26477 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
26478 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
26480 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
26481 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
26482 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
26483 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
26488 @subsection Conformity
26490 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
26491 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
26499 There are no known breaches of this standard.
26503 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
26505 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
26506 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
26507 We do have some breaches to this one.
26513 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
26514 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
26515 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
26516 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
26517 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
26522 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
26523 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
26524 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
26525 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
26527 @item MIME---RFC 2045--2049 etc
26528 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
26529 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
26531 @item Disposition Notifications---RFC 2298
26532 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
26534 @item PGP---RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
26537 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
26538 published as an informational RFC@. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
26539 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
26540 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
26541 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26544 @item PGP/MIME---RFC 2015/3156
26545 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26546 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26547 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26549 @item S/MIME---RFC 2633
26550 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26552 @item IMAP---RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26553 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26554 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26555 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26556 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26557 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26558 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26559 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26563 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26564 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26569 @subsection Emacsen
26575 This version of Gnus should work on:
26583 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26587 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26588 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26589 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26590 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26592 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
26595 @node Gnus Development
26596 @subsection Gnus Development
26598 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26599 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
26600 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26601 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26602 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26603 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26604 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26605 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
26607 After futzing around for 10--100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26608 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26609 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
26610 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26611 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
26612 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
26613 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
26617 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26618 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26619 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26620 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26621 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26623 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26624 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26625 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26626 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26627 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26628 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26629 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26630 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26631 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26632 can't be assumed to do so.
26634 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
26635 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
26636 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
26639 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26640 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26641 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26642 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26643 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26646 @subsection Contributors
26647 @cindex contributors
26649 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26650 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26651 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26652 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26653 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26654 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26655 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26656 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26657 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26658 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26660 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26666 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26669 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el,
26670 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26671 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26672 functionality and stuff.
26675 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26676 well as numerous other things).
26679 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26682 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26685 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26688 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26691 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26692 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26695 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26698 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26701 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26704 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26707 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bug detection and fixes.
26710 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26713 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26714 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26717 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26720 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26723 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26726 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26730 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26733 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26736 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26739 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26740 well as autoconf support.
26744 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26745 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26747 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26762 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26764 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26768 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26778 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26793 Massimo Campostrini,
26798 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26799 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26803 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26806 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26812 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26817 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26821 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26829 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26831 Michelangelo Grigni,
26835 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26837 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26839 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26847 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26848 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26849 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26851 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26861 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26862 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26864 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26865 Thor Kristoffersen,
26868 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26886 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26887 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26894 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26899 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26903 John McClary Prevost,
26909 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26914 Christian von Roques,
26917 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26924 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26926 Randal L. Schwartz,
26940 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26945 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26965 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26966 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26967 (550kB and counting).
26969 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26972 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26973 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26977 @subsection New Features
26978 @cindex new features
26981 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26982 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26983 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26984 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26985 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26986 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26987 * No Gnus:: Very punny. Gnus 5.12/5.13.
26988 * Ma Gnus:: Celebrating 25 years of Gnus.
26991 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26992 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26993 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26996 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26998 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
27003 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
27004 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
27007 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
27008 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
27011 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
27014 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
27015 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
27016 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
27019 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
27020 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
27021 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
27022 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27025 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
27026 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27029 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
27030 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
27031 (@pxref{The Active File}).
27034 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
27035 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
27038 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
27039 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
27040 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27043 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
27044 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
27045 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
27048 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
27049 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
27052 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
27053 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
27056 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
27057 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27060 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
27061 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
27064 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
27065 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27068 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
27071 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
27072 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
27075 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
27076 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
27079 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
27080 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
27083 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
27086 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
27087 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27090 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
27094 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
27098 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
27099 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
27104 @node September Gnus
27105 @subsubsection September Gnus
27109 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
27113 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
27118 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
27119 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
27123 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
27124 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
27128 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
27132 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
27133 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
27136 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
27140 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
27143 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
27146 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
27149 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
27153 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
27154 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
27157 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
27161 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
27165 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
27169 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
27173 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
27176 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
27177 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
27180 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
27184 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
27185 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
27188 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
27191 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
27192 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
27193 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27196 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets.
27199 The Gnus cache is much faster.
27202 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
27206 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
27207 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
27210 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
27211 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
27214 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
27215 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
27218 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
27219 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
27220 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
27223 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
27224 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
27227 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
27230 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27233 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
27236 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
27239 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
27240 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
27243 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
27247 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
27250 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
27255 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27258 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
27262 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
27265 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
27268 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
27269 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27272 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
27273 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
27277 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
27278 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
27281 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
27285 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
27286 buffer to allow easier treatment.
27289 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
27292 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
27296 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
27300 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
27301 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
27304 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
27308 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
27309 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27312 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
27313 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27316 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
27320 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27323 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
27326 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
27332 @subsubsection Red Gnus
27334 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
27338 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
27345 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
27348 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
27349 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27352 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
27353 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
27357 Article washing status can be displayed in the
27358 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
27361 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
27364 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
27365 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
27368 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
27372 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
27373 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
27377 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extensible (@pxref{Document
27378 Server Internals}).
27381 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
27385 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
27388 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
27389 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
27392 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
27393 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
27394 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
27397 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
27398 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27401 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
27402 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
27405 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
27409 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
27410 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27413 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
27414 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27417 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
27421 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
27424 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
27428 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
27429 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27432 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
27433 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27436 A new command for reading collections of documents
27437 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
27438 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
27441 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
27445 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
27446 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
27449 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
27450 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
27451 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
27454 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
27455 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
27459 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
27463 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
27467 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
27472 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
27476 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
27480 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
27481 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
27484 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
27490 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
27492 New features in Gnus 5.6:
27497 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
27498 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
27499 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
27502 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
27503 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
27504 group, which is created automatically.
27507 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
27511 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-IDs.
27514 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
27515 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
27518 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
27522 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
27525 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
27526 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
27529 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
27532 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
27536 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27537 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27540 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27541 control over simplification.
27544 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27547 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27551 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27554 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27557 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27558 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27559 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27562 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27563 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27566 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27570 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27571 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27574 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27575 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27578 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27582 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27585 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27588 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27589 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27592 A new function for citing in Message has been
27593 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27596 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27599 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27603 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27604 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27607 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27608 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27611 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27614 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27618 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27619 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27621 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27626 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27627 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27629 If you used procmail like in
27632 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27633 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27634 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27635 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27638 this now has changed to
27642 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27646 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27649 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27650 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27653 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27654 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27657 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27658 called to position point.
27661 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27662 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27665 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27666 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27669 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27670 subtly different manner.
27673 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27674 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27675 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27678 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27683 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27686 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27690 @item Installation changes
27691 @c ***********************
27695 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27697 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27698 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27699 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27700 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27701 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27702 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27703 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27704 isn't save in general.
27707 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27708 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27709 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27710 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27711 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27712 remove-installed-shadows}.
27715 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27717 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27718 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27719 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
27720 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27721 the second parameter.
27723 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27724 automatic recognition of XEmacs and Emacs, generates
27725 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27726 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27727 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27728 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27729 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27730 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27731 cycle used under Unix systems.
27733 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27734 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27737 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27739 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27740 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27743 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27744 @c the repository. We should find a better place for this item.
27746 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27748 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27749 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27750 lisp directory into load-path.
27752 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27753 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27757 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27758 @c *****************************************
27763 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27764 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27767 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27769 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27770 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GnuTLS.
27773 Improved anti-spam features.
27775 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27776 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27777 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27778 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27779 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27780 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27783 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27785 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27786 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27787 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27788 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27789 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27793 @item Changes in group mode
27794 @c ************************
27799 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27803 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27805 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27806 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27809 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27811 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27812 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27813 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27814 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27815 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27818 (setq gnus-parameters
27820 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27821 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27822 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27823 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27827 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27829 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27830 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27831 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27832 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27833 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27834 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27835 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27836 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27837 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27840 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27842 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27843 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27844 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27847 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27848 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27850 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27851 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27852 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27854 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27858 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
27859 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
27860 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
27864 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27865 @c **************************************
27870 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27871 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27872 region if the region is active.
27875 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27876 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27881 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27882 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27883 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27884 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27887 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27892 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27893 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27895 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27896 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27900 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27901 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27904 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27907 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27908 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27911 Warn about email replies to news
27913 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27914 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27918 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27919 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27923 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27924 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27927 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27928 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27931 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27932 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27935 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27937 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27938 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27939 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27940 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27943 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27944 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27945 Outlook (Express) articles.
27948 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27950 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27951 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27952 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27953 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27955 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27956 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27957 message cited below.
27960 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc.)@: are now displayed graphically in
27963 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27967 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27970 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27971 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27974 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27977 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27979 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27980 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27981 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27982 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27983 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27987 Deleting of attachments.
27989 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27990 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27991 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27992 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27993 that support editing.
27996 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27998 The default value is determined from the
27999 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
28000 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
28001 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
28004 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
28006 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
28007 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
28008 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
28011 Extended format specs.
28013 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
28014 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
28015 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
28016 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
28017 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
28018 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
28021 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
28022 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
28024 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
28025 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
28026 out other articles.
28029 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
28031 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
28032 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
28033 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
28034 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
28037 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
28041 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
28042 @c ****************************************************
28049 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
28050 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
28051 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
28054 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
28055 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
28058 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
28059 Gcc articles as read.
28062 Externalizing of attachments
28064 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
28065 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
28066 local files as external parts.
28069 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
28070 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
28073 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
28075 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
28076 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
28077 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
28078 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
28079 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
28080 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
28081 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
28082 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
28083 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
28086 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
28088 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
28089 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
28090 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
28091 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
28092 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
28093 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
28096 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
28097 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
28101 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
28104 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
28106 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
28107 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
28108 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
28109 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
28110 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
28111 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
28112 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
28113 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
28114 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
28115 was inserted directly.
28118 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
28120 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
28121 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
28122 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
28123 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
28124 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
28127 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
28129 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
28131 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
28132 'bbdb-complete-name)
28136 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
28138 Add a new format of match like
28140 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
28141 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28143 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
28145 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
28146 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28150 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
28152 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
28153 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
28154 need add those two headers too.
28157 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
28158 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
28159 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
28163 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
28164 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
28165 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
28166 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
28167 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
28170 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
28172 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
28175 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
28177 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
28181 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
28183 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
28184 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
28185 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
28186 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
28187 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
28188 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
28189 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
28190 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
28193 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
28194 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630--2633).
28196 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
28197 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
28198 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
28199 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
28202 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
28205 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
28206 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
28209 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
28212 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
28213 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
28214 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
28215 invalidate the digital signature.
28218 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
28219 decompressed when activated.
28220 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
28223 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
28225 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
28226 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
28227 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
28228 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
28229 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
28232 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
28233 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
28234 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
28235 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
28237 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
28238 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
28239 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
28240 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
28244 @item Changes in back ends
28245 @c ***********************
28249 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
28252 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
28255 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
28257 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
28260 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
28262 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
28263 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
28264 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
28265 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within, e.g., a department. It
28266 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
28267 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
28268 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
28269 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
28270 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
28271 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
28272 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
28282 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
28283 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
28286 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
28287 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
28288 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
28289 message, Message Manual}).
28292 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
28293 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
28294 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
28295 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
28297 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
28298 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
28299 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
28304 @item Miscellaneous changes
28305 @c ************************
28312 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
28313 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
28314 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
28315 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
28316 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
28317 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
28318 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
28319 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
28320 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
28321 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
28322 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
28323 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
28324 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
28325 is not needed any more.
28328 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
28330 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
28331 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
28332 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
28337 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
28338 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
28339 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
28343 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
28346 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
28348 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
28355 @subsubsection No Gnus
28358 New features in No Gnus:
28359 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
28361 @include gnus-news.texi
28364 @subsubsection Ma Gnus
28367 I'm sure there will be lots of text here. It's really spelled 真
28370 New features in Ma Gnus:
28374 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
28375 @c ****************************************************
28380 The new hooks @code{gnus-gcc-pre-body-encode-hook} and
28381 @code{gnus-gcc-post-body-encode-hook} are run before/after encoding
28382 the message body of the Gcc copy of a sent message. See
28383 @xref{Archived Messages}.
28393 @section The Manual
28397 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
28398 either @code{texi2dvi}
28400 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
28401 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
28403 to get what you hold in your hands now.
28405 The following conventions have been used:
28410 This is a @samp{string}
28413 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
28416 This is a @file{file}
28419 This is a @code{symbol}
28423 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
28427 (setq flargnoze "yes")
28430 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
28433 (setq flumphel 'yes)
28436 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
28437 ever get them confused.
28441 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
28442 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
28443 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
28444 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
28445 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
28446 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
28447 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
28453 @node On Writing Manuals
28454 @section On Writing Manuals
28456 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
28457 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
28458 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
28459 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
28460 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
28461 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
28464 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
28465 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
28466 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
28469 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
28470 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
28475 @section Terminology
28477 @cindex terminology
28482 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
28483 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
28484 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
28485 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
28486 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
28490 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
28491 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
28492 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
28493 not posting, and replying is not following up.
28497 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
28501 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
28506 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
28507 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
28508 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
28509 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
28510 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
28511 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
28512 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
28513 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
28514 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
28517 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
28518 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
28519 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
28520 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
28521 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
28522 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
28524 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
28525 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
28526 access the articles.
28528 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
28529 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
28530 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
28535 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
28536 default, way of getting news. Groups from the native select method
28537 have names like @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}.
28541 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same
28542 time. These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends
28543 for getting news. Foreign groups have names like
28544 @samp{nntp+news.gmane.org:gmane.emacs.gnus.devel}.
28548 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and
28549 being foreign, but they mostly act like they are native, but they, too
28550 have names like @samp{nntp+news.gmane.org:gmane.emacs.gnus.devel}.
28554 A message that has been posted as news.
28557 @cindex mail message
28558 A message that has been mailed.
28562 A mail message or news article
28566 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.)@: is
28571 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28576 A line from the head of an article.
28580 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28581 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28583 @item @acronym{NOV}
28584 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28585 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
28586 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
28587 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
28588 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
28589 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
28591 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28592 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28593 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28594 normal @sc{head} format.
28596 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
28597 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
28598 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
28599 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
28600 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
28603 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
28604 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
28605 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
28606 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
28607 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
28608 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
28609 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
28613 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1--9). The ones
28614 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28615 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1--5 are considered
28616 @dfn{subscribed}; 6--7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28617 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28618 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28620 @item killed groups
28621 @cindex killed groups
28622 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28623 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28625 @item zombie groups
28626 @cindex zombie groups
28627 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28630 @cindex active file
28631 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28632 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28633 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28636 @cindex bogus groups
28637 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28638 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28639 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28642 @cindex activating groups
28643 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28644 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28645 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28649 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28650 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28651 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28655 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28657 @item select method
28658 @cindex select method
28659 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28662 @item virtual server
28663 @cindex virtual server
28664 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28665 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28666 whole is a virtual server.
28670 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28671 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28674 @item ephemeral groups
28675 @cindex ephemeral groups
28676 @cindex temporary groups
28677 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28678 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28679 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28682 @cindex solid groups
28683 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28684 group buffer are solid groups.
28686 @item sparse articles
28687 @cindex sparse articles
28688 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28689 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28693 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28694 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28698 @cindex thread root
28699 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28700 articles in the thread.
28704 An article that has responses.
28708 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28712 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28713 specified by RFC 1153.
28716 @cindex splitting, terminology
28717 @cindex mail sorting
28718 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28719 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28720 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28726 @node Customization
28727 @section Customization
28728 @cindex general customization
28730 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28731 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28732 for some quite common situations.
28735 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28736 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28737 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28738 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28742 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28743 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
28745 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28746 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28747 Gnus has to get from the server.
28751 @item gnus-read-active-file
28752 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28753 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28754 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28755 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28756 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28758 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28759 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
28760 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
28761 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
28762 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
28763 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
28764 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
28765 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
28766 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
28767 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
28768 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
28770 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
28771 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
28772 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
28773 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, and @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}. Note that a
28774 non-@code{nil} value for @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those
28779 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28780 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28782 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28783 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28784 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28788 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28789 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28790 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28791 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28792 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28794 @item gnus-visible-headers
28795 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28796 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28797 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28798 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28800 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28802 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28803 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28804 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28807 @item gnus-use-full-window
28808 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28809 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28810 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28811 want to read them anyway.
28813 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28814 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28818 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28819 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28820 lines, which might save some time.
28824 @node Little Disk Space
28825 @subsection Little Disk Space
28828 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28829 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28833 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28834 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28835 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28836 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28839 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28840 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28841 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28842 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28845 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28846 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28847 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28848 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28849 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28855 @subsection Slow Machine
28856 @cindex slow machine
28858 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28859 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28861 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28862 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28864 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28865 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28866 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
28870 @node Troubleshooting
28871 @section Troubleshooting
28872 @cindex troubleshooting
28874 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28882 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28885 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28886 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28890 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28892 @samp{Ma Gnus v0.10} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
28894 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
28895 files lying around. Delete these.
28898 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28899 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28902 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28903 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28904 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28905 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28906 something like that.
28909 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28912 @cindex reporting bugs
28914 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28916 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28917 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28918 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28919 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28921 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28922 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28923 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28924 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28927 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28928 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28929 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28930 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28931 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28932 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28934 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28935 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28936 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28940 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28941 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28944 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28945 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28946 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28947 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28948 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28949 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28950 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28951 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28952 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28953 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28954 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28955 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28956 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28957 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28962 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28963 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28964 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28965 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28966 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28968 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP@. The profiler is
28969 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28970 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28971 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g., @kbd{M-x
28972 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28973 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28974 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28975 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28976 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28977 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28978 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28979 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28980 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28983 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28984 @cindex ding mailing list
28985 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28986 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28987 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28988 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28992 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28993 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28995 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28996 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28997 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28998 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
29001 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
29002 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
29003 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
29004 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
29005 and general methods of operation.
29008 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
29009 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
29010 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
29011 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
29012 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
29013 * Group Info:: The group info format.
29014 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
29015 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
29016 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
29020 @node Gnus Utility Functions
29021 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
29022 @cindex Gnus utility functions
29023 @cindex utility functions
29025 @cindex internal variables
29027 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
29028 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
29029 Below is a list of the most common ones.
29033 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
29034 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
29035 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
29037 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
29038 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
29039 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
29041 @item gnus-group-real-name
29042 @findex gnus-group-real-name
29043 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
29046 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
29047 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
29048 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
29049 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
29051 @item gnus-get-info
29052 @findex gnus-get-info
29053 Returns the group info list for @var{group} (@pxref{Group Info}).
29055 @item gnus-group-unread
29056 @findex gnus-group-unread
29057 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
29061 @findex gnus-active
29062 The active entry (i.e., a cons cell containing the lowest and highest
29063 article numbers) for @var{group}.
29065 @item gnus-set-active
29066 @findex gnus-set-active
29067 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
29069 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29070 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29071 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
29074 @item gnus-continuum-version
29075 @findex gnus-continuum-version
29076 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
29077 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
29080 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
29081 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
29082 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
29084 @item gnus-news-group-p
29085 @findex gnus-news-group-p
29086 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
29088 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29089 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29090 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
29092 @item gnus-server-to-method
29093 @findex gnus-server-to-method
29094 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
29096 @item gnus-server-equal
29097 @findex gnus-server-equal
29098 Says whether two virtual servers are essentially equal. For instance,
29099 two virtual servers may have server parameters in different order, but
29100 this function will consider them equal.
29102 @item gnus-group-native-p
29103 @findex gnus-group-native-p
29104 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
29106 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
29107 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
29108 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
29110 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
29111 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
29112 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
29114 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
29115 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
29116 Returns the parameter list of @var{group} (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
29117 If given a second parameter, returns the value of that parameter for
29120 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
29121 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
29122 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
29124 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
29125 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
29126 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
29128 @item gnus-check-backend-function
29129 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
29130 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
29131 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
29134 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
29138 @item gnus-read-method
29139 @findex gnus-read-method
29140 Prompts the user for a select method.
29145 @node Back End Interface
29146 @subsection Back End Interface
29148 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
29149 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
29150 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
29151 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
29152 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
29153 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
29155 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
29156 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
29157 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
29158 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
29159 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
29160 been opened, the function should fail.
29162 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
29163 name. Take this example:
29167 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
29168 (nntp-port-number 4324))
29171 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
29172 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
29174 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
29175 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
29176 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
29178 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
29179 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
29180 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
29182 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
29183 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
29184 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
29185 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
29186 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
29187 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
29190 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
29191 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
29192 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server'';
29193 they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
29196 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
29197 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
29198 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
29199 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
29200 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
29201 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
29202 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
29203 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
29204 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
29205 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
29207 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
29208 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
29209 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
29210 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
29211 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
29212 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
29213 of numbers as long as possible.
29215 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
29216 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
29217 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
29219 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
29222 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
29225 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
29226 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
29227 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
29228 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
29229 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
29230 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
29234 @node Required Back End Functions
29235 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
29239 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
29241 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
29242 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
29243 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
29244 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
29246 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
29247 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
29248 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
29249 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
29251 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
29252 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
29253 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
29254 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
29255 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
29256 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
29257 number, do maximum fetches.
29259 Here's an example HEAD:
29262 221 1056 Article retrieved.
29263 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
29264 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
29265 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
29266 Subject: Re: Something very droll
29267 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
29268 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
29270 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
29271 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
29272 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
29276 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
29277 these in the data buffer.
29279 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
29283 head = error / valid-head
29284 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
29285 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
29286 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
29287 header = <text> eol
29291 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
29293 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
29294 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
29298 nov-buffer = *nov-line
29299 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
29300 field = <text except TAB>
29303 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
29307 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
29309 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
29310 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
29312 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
29313 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
29314 server. In fact, it should do so.
29316 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
29317 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
29320 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
29322 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
29323 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
29326 There should be no data returned.
29329 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
29331 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
29332 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
29333 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
29334 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
29336 There should be no data returned.
29339 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
29341 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
29342 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
29343 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
29344 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
29346 There should be no data returned.
29349 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
29351 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
29353 There should be no data returned.
29356 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
29358 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
29359 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
29360 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
29361 it would be nice if that were possible.
29363 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
29364 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
29365 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
29366 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
29367 into its article buffer.
29369 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
29370 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
29371 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
29372 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
29373 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
29374 on successful article retrieval.
29377 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST INFO)
29379 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
29380 making @var{group} the current group.
29382 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
29385 If @var{info}, it allows the backend to update the group info
29388 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
29391 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
29394 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
29395 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
29396 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
29397 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
29398 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
29399 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
29400 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
29401 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
29402 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
29406 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
29407 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
29408 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
29412 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29414 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
29415 a no-op on most back ends.
29417 There should be no data returned.
29420 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
29422 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
29425 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
29428 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
29429 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
29432 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
29433 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
29434 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
29435 and the highest as 0.
29438 active-file = *active-line
29439 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
29441 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
29444 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
29445 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
29446 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
29449 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
29451 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
29452 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
29453 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
29454 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
29455 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
29456 clear if the posting could not be completed.
29458 There should be no result data from this function.
29463 @node Optional Back End Functions
29464 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
29468 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
29470 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
29471 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
29472 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
29474 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
29475 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
29476 former is in the same format as the data from
29477 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
29478 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
29481 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
29485 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
29487 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
29488 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
29489 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
29490 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
29491 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
29492 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
29493 the network resources).
29495 There should be no result data from this function.
29498 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
29500 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
29501 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
29502 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
29503 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
29504 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
29505 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
29506 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
29507 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
29509 There should be no result data from this function.
29512 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
29514 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
29515 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc.)@: internally, and store them in
29516 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
29517 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
29518 propagate the mark information to the server.
29520 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
29523 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
29526 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
29527 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
29528 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
29529 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
29530 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
29531 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend}, and
29532 @code{forward}, but your back end should, if possible, not limit
29535 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
29536 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
29537 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
29538 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
29540 An example action list:
29543 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
29544 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
29545 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
29548 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
29549 mark on (currently not used for anything).
29551 There should be no result data from this function.
29553 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
29555 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
29556 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
29557 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
29558 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
29559 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
29561 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
29562 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
29563 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
29566 There should be no result data from this function.
29569 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
29571 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
29572 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
29573 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
29574 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
29575 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
29576 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
29577 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
29578 local if that's practical.
29580 There should be no result data from this function.
29583 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
29585 The result data from this function should be a description of
29589 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
29591 description = <text>
29594 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
29596 The result data from this function should be the description of all
29597 groups available on the server.
29600 description-buffer = *description-line
29604 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
29606 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
29607 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
29608 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
29609 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
29610 in the active buffer format.
29612 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
29613 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
29614 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
29615 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
29616 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29617 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29618 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29621 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29623 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29625 There should be no return data.
29628 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29630 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29631 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29632 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29633 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29634 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29637 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29640 There should be no result data returned.
29643 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29645 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29646 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29648 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29649 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29650 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29651 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29652 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29653 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29655 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29656 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29659 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29660 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29662 There should be no data returned.
29665 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29667 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29668 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29669 this function in short order.
29671 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29672 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29674 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29675 article for that group.
29677 There should be no data returned.
29680 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29682 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29683 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29685 There should be no data returned.
29688 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29690 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29691 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29692 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29694 There should be no data returned.
29697 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29699 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29700 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29702 There should be no data returned.
29707 @node Error Messaging
29708 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29710 @findex nnheader-report
29711 @findex nnheader-get-report
29712 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29713 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29714 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29715 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29716 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29717 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29720 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29722 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29725 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29726 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29727 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29728 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29730 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29731 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29732 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29735 @node Writing New Back Ends
29736 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29738 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29739 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29740 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29741 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29742 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29745 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29746 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29747 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29749 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29750 package called @code{nnoo}.
29752 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29753 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29759 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29760 parameters. For instance:
29763 (nnoo-declare nndir
29767 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29768 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29771 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29772 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29773 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29775 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29776 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29777 a function in those back ends.
29780 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29781 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29782 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29785 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29786 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29787 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29789 @item nnoo-define-basics
29790 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29794 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29798 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29799 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29800 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29802 @item nnoo-map-functions
29803 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29804 functions from the parent back ends.
29807 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29808 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29809 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29812 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29813 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29814 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29815 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29818 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29819 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29820 haven't already been defined.
29826 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29830 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29831 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29832 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29837 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29840 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29841 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29845 (require 'nnheader)
29849 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29851 (nnoo-declare nndir
29854 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29855 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29856 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29858 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29859 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29862 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29864 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29865 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29866 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29868 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29869 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29871 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29873 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29875 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29876 (setq nndir-directory
29877 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29879 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29880 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29881 (push `(nndir-current-group
29882 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29883 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29885 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29886 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29888 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29890 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29891 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29892 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29893 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29894 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29898 nnmh-status-message
29900 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29906 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29907 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29909 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29910 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29911 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29912 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29913 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29915 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29916 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29921 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29924 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29926 The abilities can be:
29930 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29932 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29934 This back end supports both mail and news.
29936 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29939 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29940 articles and groups.
29942 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29943 true for almost all back ends.
29944 @item prompt-address
29945 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29946 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29947 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29951 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29952 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29954 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29955 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29956 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29957 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29960 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29961 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29962 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29965 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29966 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29969 This function takes four parameters.
29973 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29976 @item exit-function
29977 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29979 @item temp-directory
29980 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29983 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29984 performed for one group only.
29987 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29988 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29989 find the article number assigned to this article.
29991 The function also uses the following variables:
29992 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29993 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29994 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29995 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29999 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
30000 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
30004 @node Score File Syntax
30005 @subsection Score File Syntax
30007 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
30008 malleable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
30009 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
30011 Here's a typical score file:
30015 ("Windows 95" -10000 nil s)
30022 BNF definition of a score file:
30025 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
30026 element = rule / atom
30027 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
30028 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
30029 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
30030 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
30032 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
30033 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
30034 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
30035 date-header = "date"
30036 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30037 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30038 score = "nil" / <integer>
30039 date = "nil" / <natural number>
30040 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
30041 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
30042 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
30043 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
30044 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30045 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30046 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
30047 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30048 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
30049 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
30050 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
30051 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
30052 exclude-files / read-only / touched
30053 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
30054 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
30055 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
30056 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
30057 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
30058 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
30059 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
30060 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
30061 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
30062 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
30063 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
30064 eval = "eval" space <form>
30065 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
30068 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
30071 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
30072 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
30073 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
30074 one looong line, then that's ok.
30076 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
30077 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
30081 @subsection Headers
30083 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
30084 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
30085 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
30086 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
30088 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
30089 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
30090 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
30091 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
30092 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
30093 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
30094 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
30096 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
30097 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
30098 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
30099 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
30100 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
30102 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
30103 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
30109 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
30110 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
30112 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
30113 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
30114 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
30115 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
30117 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
30121 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
30124 is transformed into
30127 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
30130 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
30131 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
30134 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
30137 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
30138 is slightly tricky:
30141 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
30147 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
30150 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
30156 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
30163 and is equal to the previous range.
30165 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
30166 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
30167 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
30171 range = simple-range / normal-range
30172 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
30173 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
30174 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
30175 number *[ " " contents ]
30178 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
30179 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
30180 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
30181 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
30182 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
30187 @subsection Group Info
30189 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
30190 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
30191 describes the group.
30193 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
30194 second is a more complex one:
30197 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
30199 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
30200 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
30202 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
30205 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
30206 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
30207 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
30208 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
30209 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
30210 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
30211 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
30212 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
30213 this section is about.
30215 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
30216 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
30217 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
30219 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
30222 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
30223 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
30224 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30225 group = quote <string> quote
30226 ralevel = rank / level
30227 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30228 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
30229 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30231 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
30232 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
30233 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
30234 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
30237 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
30238 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
30241 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
30242 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
30245 @item gnus-info-group
30246 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
30247 @findex gnus-info-group
30248 @findex gnus-info-set-group
30249 Get/set the group name.
30251 @item gnus-info-rank
30252 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
30253 @findex gnus-info-rank
30254 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
30255 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
30257 @item gnus-info-level
30258 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
30259 @findex gnus-info-level
30260 @findex gnus-info-set-level
30261 Get/set the group level.
30263 @item gnus-info-score
30264 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
30265 @findex gnus-info-score
30266 @findex gnus-info-set-score
30267 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
30269 @item gnus-info-read
30270 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
30271 @findex gnus-info-read
30272 @findex gnus-info-set-read
30273 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
30275 @item gnus-info-marks
30276 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
30277 @findex gnus-info-marks
30278 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
30279 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
30281 @item gnus-info-method
30282 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
30283 @findex gnus-info-method
30284 @findex gnus-info-set-method
30285 Get/set the group select method.
30287 @item gnus-info-params
30288 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
30289 @findex gnus-info-params
30290 @findex gnus-info-set-params
30291 Get/set the group parameters.
30294 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
30295 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
30297 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
30298 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
30299 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
30300 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
30303 @node Extended Interactive
30304 @subsection Extended Interactive
30305 @cindex interactive
30306 @findex gnus-interactive
30308 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
30309 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
30310 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
30313 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
30314 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
30319 The best thing to do would have been to implement
30320 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
30321 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
30322 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
30323 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
30324 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
30325 @code{interactive}.
30327 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
30332 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
30333 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
30337 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
30338 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
30339 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
30342 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
30346 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
30350 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
30356 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
30357 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
30361 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
30362 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
30363 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
30365 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
30366 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
30367 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
30368 Gnus, that's very useful.
30370 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
30371 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
30372 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
30373 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
30374 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
30375 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
30376 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
30377 following function:
30380 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
30384 (,function ,@@args))
30388 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
30389 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
30390 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
30393 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
30394 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
30395 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
30397 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
30398 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
30399 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
30402 @node Various File Formats
30403 @subsection Various File Formats
30406 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
30407 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
30411 @node Active File Format
30412 @subsubsection Active File Format
30414 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
30415 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
30418 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
30421 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
30422 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
30423 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
30424 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
30425 no.general 1000 900 y
30428 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
30431 active = *group-line
30432 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
30433 group = <non-white-space string>
30435 high-number = <non-negative integer>
30436 low-number = <positive integer>
30437 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
30440 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
30441 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
30444 @node Newsgroups File Format
30445 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
30447 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
30448 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
30449 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
30452 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
30453 Here's the definition:
30457 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
30458 group = <non-white-space string>
30460 description = <string>
30465 @node Emacs for Heathens
30466 @section Emacs for Heathens
30468 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
30469 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
30470 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
30471 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
30472 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
30473 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
30474 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
30478 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
30479 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
30484 @subsection Keystrokes
30488 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
30491 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
30494 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
30495 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
30496 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
30497 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
30498 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
30499 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
30501 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
30502 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
30503 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
30504 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
30505 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
30506 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
30507 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
30509 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
30510 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
30511 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
30512 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
30513 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
30514 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
30515 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
30517 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
30518 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
30519 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
30520 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
30521 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
30527 @subsection Emacs Lisp
30529 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
30530 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
30531 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
30532 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
30534 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
30535 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
30536 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
30537 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
30538 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
30539 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
30540 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
30541 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
30542 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
30543 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
30545 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
30546 write the following:
30549 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
30552 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
30553 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
30554 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
30555 change how Gnus works.
30557 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
30558 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
30559 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
30560 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
30561 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
30563 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
30564 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
30565 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
30569 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
30573 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
30576 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server-file} to
30577 @samp{/etc/nntpserver}'', that means:
30580 (setq gnus-nntp-server-file "/etc/nntpserver")
30583 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
30584 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
30587 @include gnus-faq.texi
30589 @node GNU Free Documentation License
30590 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
30591 @include doclicense.texi
30609 @c Local Variables: