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14 Copyright @copyright{} 1995-2011 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. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
26 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
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309 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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324 @dircategory Emacs network features
326 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
335 @title Gnus Manual (DEVELOPMENT VERSION)
337 @ifclear WEBHACKDEVEL
341 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
343 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 @top The Gnus Newsreader
355 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
356 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
357 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
360 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
361 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.18
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
394 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
395 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.18
397 @heading Other related manuals
399 @item Message manual: Composing messages
400 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
401 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
402 @item PGG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
403 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
409 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
410 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
411 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
412 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
413 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
414 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
415 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
416 * Searching:: Mail and News search engines.
417 * Various:: General purpose settings.
418 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
419 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
420 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
421 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
422 * Key Index:: Key Index.
424 Other related manuals
426 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
427 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
428 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
429 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
430 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
433 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
437 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
473 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
477 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
478 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
479 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
483 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
484 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
485 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
486 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
487 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
491 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
492 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
493 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
494 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
495 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
499 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
500 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
501 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
502 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
503 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
504 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
505 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
506 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
507 * Threading:: How threads are made.
508 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
509 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
510 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
511 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
512 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
513 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
514 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
515 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
516 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
517 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
518 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
519 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
520 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
521 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
522 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
523 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
524 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
525 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
526 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
527 or reselecting the current group.
528 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
529 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
530 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
531 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
533 Summary Buffer Format
535 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
536 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
537 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
538 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
542 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
543 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
545 Reply, Followup and Post
547 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
548 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
549 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
550 * Canceling and Superseding::
554 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
555 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
556 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
557 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
558 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
559 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
563 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
564 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
566 Customizing Threading
568 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
569 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
570 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
571 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
575 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
576 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
577 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
578 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
579 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
580 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
584 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
585 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
586 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
590 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
591 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
592 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
593 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
594 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
595 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
596 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
599 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
600 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
602 Alternative Approaches
604 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
605 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
607 Various Summary Stuff
609 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
610 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
611 * Summary Generation Commands::
612 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
616 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
617 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
618 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
619 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
620 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
624 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
625 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
626 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
627 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
628 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
629 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
630 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
631 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
632 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
636 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
637 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
638 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
642 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
643 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
697 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
698 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
703 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
704 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
705 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
709 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
710 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
711 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
712 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
713 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
717 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
721 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
725 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
726 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
727 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
731 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
732 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
733 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
735 The Gnus Diary Library
737 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
738 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
739 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
740 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
744 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
745 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
746 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
747 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
748 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
749 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
750 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
751 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
752 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
753 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
754 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
755 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
756 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
757 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
761 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
762 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
763 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
767 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
768 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
769 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
773 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
774 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
775 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
776 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
777 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
778 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
779 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
780 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
781 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
782 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
783 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
784 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
785 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
786 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
787 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
788 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
792 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
793 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
794 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
798 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
799 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
803 * What is nnir?:: What does nnir do.
804 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
805 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up nnir.
809 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
813 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
814 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
815 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
816 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
817 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
818 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
819 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
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 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
895 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
896 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
897 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
898 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
899 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
900 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
901 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
905 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
906 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
907 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
908 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
909 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
910 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
911 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
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
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 "")))
1070 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1071 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1072 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1073 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1076 @node The Server is Down
1077 @section The Server is Down
1078 @cindex server errors
1080 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1081 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1082 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1084 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1085 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1086 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1087 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1088 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1089 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1090 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1092 @findex gnus-no-server
1093 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1095 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1096 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1097 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1098 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1099 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1100 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1101 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1105 @section Slave Gnusae
1108 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1109 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1110 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1111 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1113 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1114 @file{.newsrc} file.
1116 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1117 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1118 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1119 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1120 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1121 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1122 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1125 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1126 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1127 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1128 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1129 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1130 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1131 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1132 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1134 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1135 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1137 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1138 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1139 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1140 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1141 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1148 @cindex subscription
1150 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1151 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1152 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1153 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1154 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1155 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1156 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1157 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1158 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1161 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1162 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1163 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1167 @node Checking New Groups
1168 @subsection Checking New Groups
1170 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1171 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1172 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1173 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1174 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1175 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1176 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1177 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1178 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1179 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1181 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1182 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1183 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1184 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1185 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1186 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1187 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1188 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1189 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1190 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1191 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1193 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1194 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1195 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1196 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1197 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1198 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1201 @node Subscription Methods
1202 @subsection Subscription Methods
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1205 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1206 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1208 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1209 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1211 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1217 Make all new groups zombies (@pxref{Group Levels}). This is the
1218 default. You can browse the zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either
1219 kill them all off properly (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1224 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1225 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1229 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1233 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1234 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1235 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1236 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1237 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1238 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1239 up. Or something like that.
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1243 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1244 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1245 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1249 Kill all new groups.
1251 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1253 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1254 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1255 topic parameter that looks like
1261 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1264 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1270 A closely related variable is
1271 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1272 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1273 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1274 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1277 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1278 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1279 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1280 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1283 @node Filtering New Groups
1284 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1286 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1287 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1288 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1291 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1294 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1295 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1296 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1297 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1298 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1299 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1300 subscribing these groups.
1301 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1302 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1304 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1305 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1306 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1307 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1308 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1309 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1310 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1311 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1313 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1314 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1315 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1316 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1317 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1318 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1319 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1320 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1321 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, @code{nnimap}, and
1322 @code{nnmaildir}) subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this
1323 variable to @code{nil}.
1325 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-categories
1326 As if that wasn't enough, @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-categories} also
1327 allows you to specify that new groups should be subcribed based on the
1328 category their select methods belong to. The default is @samp{(mail
1329 post-mail)}, meaning that all new groups from mail-like backends
1330 should be subscribed automatically.
1332 New groups that match these variables are subscribed using
1333 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1336 @node Changing Servers
1337 @section Changing Servers
1338 @cindex changing servers
1340 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1341 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1342 very flaky and you want to use another.
1344 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1345 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1349 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1350 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1351 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1352 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1355 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1356 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1357 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1358 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1361 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1362 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1363 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1364 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1366 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1367 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1368 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1369 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1370 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1371 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1372 cache for all groups).
1376 @section Startup Files
1377 @cindex startup files
1382 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1383 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1384 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1387 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1388 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1389 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1390 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1391 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1392 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1393 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1395 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1396 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1397 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1398 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1399 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1400 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1402 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1403 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1404 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1405 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1406 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1407 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1408 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1409 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1410 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1411 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1412 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1415 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1416 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1417 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1418 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1419 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1420 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1421 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1422 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1423 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1424 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1425 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1426 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1428 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1429 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1430 @vindex version-control
1431 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1432 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1433 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1434 If you want to keep multiple numbered backups of this file, set
1435 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1436 @code{version-control} variable.
1438 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1439 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1440 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1441 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1442 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1443 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1444 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1445 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1446 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1447 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1450 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1451 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1453 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1454 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1457 @vindex gnus-init-file
1458 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1459 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1460 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1461 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1462 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1463 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1464 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1465 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1466 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1467 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1468 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1469 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1470 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1475 @cindex dribble file
1478 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1479 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1480 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1481 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1482 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1485 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1486 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1489 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1490 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1491 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1493 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1494 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1495 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1496 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1497 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1498 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1500 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1501 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1502 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1505 @node The Active File
1506 @section The Active File
1508 @cindex ignored groups
1510 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1511 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1512 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1514 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1515 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1516 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1517 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1518 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1519 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1520 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1523 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1524 @c if you set it to anything else.
1526 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1528 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1529 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1530 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1532 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1533 you actually subscribe to.
1535 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1536 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1537 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1538 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1540 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1541 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1542 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1543 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1544 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1545 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1547 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1548 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1549 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1552 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1553 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1554 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1555 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1556 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1557 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1559 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1560 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1562 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1563 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1565 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1566 secondary select methods.
1569 @node Startup Variables
1570 @section Startup Variables
1574 @item gnus-load-hook
1575 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1576 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1577 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1578 times you start Gnus.
1580 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1581 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1582 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1584 @item gnus-startup-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1586 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1588 @item gnus-started-hook
1589 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1590 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1593 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1594 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1595 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1596 generating the group buffer.
1598 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1599 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1600 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1601 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1602 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1603 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1604 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1605 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1607 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1608 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1609 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1610 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1611 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1612 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1614 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1615 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1616 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1618 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1619 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1620 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1621 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1622 group operation some.
1628 @chapter Group Buffer
1629 @cindex group buffer
1631 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1633 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1634 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1635 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1636 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1637 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1638 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1639 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1640 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1641 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1642 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1643 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1644 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1645 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1646 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1647 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1648 @c human rights at 9...
1651 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1652 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1653 long as Gnus is active.
1657 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1658 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1659 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1660 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1661 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1662 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1663 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1664 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1670 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1671 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1672 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1673 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1674 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1675 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1676 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1677 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1678 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1679 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1680 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1681 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1682 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1683 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1684 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1685 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1686 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1687 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1691 @node Group Buffer Format
1692 @section Group Buffer Format
1695 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1696 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1697 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1700 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1701 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1704 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1705 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1706 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1707 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1710 @node Group Line Specification
1711 @subsection Group Line Specification
1712 @cindex group buffer format
1714 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1715 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1717 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1720 25: news.announce.newusers
1721 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1726 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1727 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1728 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1729 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1731 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1732 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1733 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1734 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1735 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1736 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1738 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1740 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1741 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1742 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1743 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1744 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1746 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1747 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1748 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1750 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1755 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1758 Whether the group is subscribed.
1761 Level of subscribedness.
1764 Number of unread articles.
1767 Number of dormant articles.
1770 Number of ticked articles.
1773 Number of read articles.
1776 Number of unseen articles.
1779 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1780 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1782 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1783 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1784 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1785 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1786 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1787 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1788 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1790 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1791 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1792 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1793 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1794 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1795 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1796 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1799 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1802 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1811 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1812 comment element in the group parameters.
1815 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1816 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1817 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1821 @samp{m} if moderated.
1824 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1830 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1836 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1840 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1843 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1844 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1845 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1846 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1847 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1850 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1852 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1856 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1859 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1863 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1864 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1865 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1866 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1869 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1870 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1871 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1872 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1873 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1874 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1879 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1880 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1881 group, or a bogus native group.
1884 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1885 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1886 @cindex group mode line
1888 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1889 The mode line can be changed by setting
1890 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1891 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1895 The native news server.
1897 The native select method.
1901 @node Group Highlighting
1902 @subsection Group Highlighting
1903 @cindex highlighting
1904 @cindex group highlighting
1906 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1907 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1908 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1909 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1910 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1912 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1916 (cond (window-system
1917 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1918 (defface my-group-face-1
1919 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1920 (defface my-group-face-2
1921 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1922 "Second group face")
1923 (defface my-group-face-3
1924 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1925 (defface my-group-face-4
1926 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1927 (defface my-group-face-5
1928 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1930 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1931 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1932 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1933 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1934 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1935 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1938 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1940 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1947 The number of unread articles in the group.
1951 Whether the group is a mail group.
1953 The level of the group.
1955 The score of the group.
1957 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1959 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1960 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1962 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1963 topic being inserted.
1966 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1967 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1968 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1970 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1971 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1972 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1973 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1976 @node Group Maneuvering
1977 @section Group Maneuvering
1978 @cindex group movement
1980 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1981 expected, hopefully.
1987 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1988 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1989 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1996 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1997 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2001 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2002 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2006 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2007 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2011 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2012 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2013 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2017 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2018 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2019 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2022 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2028 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2029 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2030 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2035 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2036 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2037 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2042 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2043 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2046 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2047 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2048 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2049 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2052 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2053 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2054 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2055 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2058 @node Selecting a Group
2059 @section Selecting a Group
2060 @cindex group selection
2065 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2066 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2067 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2068 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2069 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2070 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2071 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2072 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2073 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2074 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2076 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2077 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2078 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2080 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2081 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2086 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2087 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2088 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2089 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2090 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2094 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2095 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2096 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2097 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2098 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2099 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2100 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2101 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2102 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2103 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2106 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2107 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2108 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2109 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2110 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2113 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2114 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2115 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2116 doing any processing of its contents
2117 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2118 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2119 manner will have no permanent effects.
2123 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2124 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2125 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2126 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2127 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2128 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2129 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2130 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2131 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2132 most recently will be fetched.
2134 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2135 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2136 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2139 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2140 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2141 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2142 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2143 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2144 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2145 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2146 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2147 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2148 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2149 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2150 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2151 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2152 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2153 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2154 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2155 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2157 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2158 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2159 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2160 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2161 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2162 Which article this is controlled by the
2163 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2169 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2172 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2175 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2177 @item unseen-or-unread
2178 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2179 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2183 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2187 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2188 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2190 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2191 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2192 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2193 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2197 @node Subscription Commands
2198 @section Subscription Commands
2199 @cindex subscription
2201 The following commands allow for managing your subscriptions in the
2202 Group buffer. If you want to subscribe to many groups, it's probably
2203 more convenient to go to the @ref{Server Buffer}, and choose the
2204 server there using @kbd{RET} or @kbd{SPC}. Then you'll have the
2205 commands listed in @ref{Browse Foreign Server} at hand.
2213 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2214 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2215 Toggle subscription to the current group
2216 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2222 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2223 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2224 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2225 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2231 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2232 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2233 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2239 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2240 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2243 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2244 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2245 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2246 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2247 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2253 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2254 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2258 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2259 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2262 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2263 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2264 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2265 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2266 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2267 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2268 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2269 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2270 @file{.newsrc} file.
2274 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2284 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2285 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2286 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2287 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2288 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2289 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2294 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2295 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2296 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2300 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2301 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2302 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2304 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2305 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2306 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2307 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2308 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2309 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2316 @section Group Levels
2320 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2321 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2322 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2323 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2324 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2326 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2332 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2333 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2334 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2335 prompted for a level.
2338 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2339 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2340 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2341 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2342 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2343 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2344 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2345 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2346 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2347 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2348 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2349 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2350 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2351 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2352 reasons of efficiency.
2354 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2355 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2357 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2358 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2359 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2360 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2361 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2362 groups are hidden, in a way.
2364 @cindex zombie groups
2365 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2366 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2367 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2368 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2369 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2370 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2372 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2373 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2374 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2375 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2376 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2377 list of killed groups.)
2379 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2380 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2381 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2383 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2384 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2385 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2386 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2387 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2388 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2389 relevant valid ranges.
2391 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2392 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2393 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2394 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2395 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2396 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2399 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2400 one with the best level.
2402 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2403 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2404 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2406 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2407 be called and the result will be used as value.
2410 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2411 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2412 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2413 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2416 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2417 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2418 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2419 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2421 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2422 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2423 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2424 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2425 to 5. The default is 6.
2429 @section Group Score
2434 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2435 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2436 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2439 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2440 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2441 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2442 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2443 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2444 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2445 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2446 least significant part.))
2448 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2449 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2450 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2451 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2452 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2453 action after each summary exit, you can add
2454 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2455 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2456 slow things down somewhat.
2459 @node Marking Groups
2460 @section Marking Groups
2461 @cindex marking groups
2463 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2464 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2465 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2466 bidding on those groups.
2468 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2469 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2470 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2478 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2479 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2485 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2486 Remove the mark from the current group
2487 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2491 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2492 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2497 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2502 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2506 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2507 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2508 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2511 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2513 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2514 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2515 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2516 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2517 the command to be executed.
2520 @node Foreign Groups
2521 @section Foreign Groups
2522 @cindex foreign groups
2524 If you recall how to subscribe to servers (@pxref{Finding the News})
2525 you will remember that @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} and
2526 @code{gnus-select-method} let you write a definition in Emacs Lisp of
2527 what servers you want to see when you start up. The alternate
2528 approach is to use foreign servers and groups. ``Foreign'' here means
2529 they are not coming from the select methods. All foreign server
2530 configuration and subscriptions are stored only in the
2531 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file.
2533 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2534 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2535 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2536 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2539 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2540 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2541 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2547 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2548 @cindex making groups
2549 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2550 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2551 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2555 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2556 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2557 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2561 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2562 @cindex renaming groups
2563 Rename the current group to something else
2564 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2565 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2571 @findex gnus-group-customize
2572 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2576 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2577 @cindex renaming groups
2578 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2579 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2583 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2584 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2585 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2589 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2590 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2591 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2595 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2597 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2598 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2603 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2604 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2608 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2610 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2611 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2612 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2616 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2617 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2619 Make a group based on some file or other
2620 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2621 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2622 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2623 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2624 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2625 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2626 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2627 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2628 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2632 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2633 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2634 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2635 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2639 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2643 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2644 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2645 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2646 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2647 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2648 @xref{Web Searches}.
2650 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2651 to a particular group by using a match string like
2652 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2656 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2657 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2658 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2662 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2663 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2664 This function will delete the current group
2665 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2666 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2667 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2668 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2669 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2673 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2674 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2675 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2679 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2680 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2681 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2684 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2687 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2688 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2689 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2690 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2691 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2692 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2696 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2697 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2700 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2701 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2702 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2703 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2704 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2705 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2708 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2709 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2710 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2711 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2712 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2713 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2714 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2715 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2716 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2717 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2719 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2720 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2721 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2722 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2723 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2725 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2726 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2727 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2728 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2731 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2739 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2740 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2741 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2745 @node Group Parameters
2746 @section Group Parameters
2747 @cindex group parameters
2749 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2751 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2752 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2753 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2754 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2755 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2756 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2757 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2759 Here's an example group parameter list:
2762 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2766 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2767 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2768 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2769 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2771 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2772 is an alist of regexps and values.
2774 The following group parameters can be used:
2779 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2782 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2785 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2786 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2787 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2788 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2789 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2791 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2792 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2793 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2794 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2795 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2796 list address instead.
2798 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2802 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2805 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2808 It is totally ignored
2809 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2810 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2812 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2813 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2814 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2815 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2816 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2818 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2819 @cindex mail list groups
2820 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2821 entering summary buffer.
2823 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2828 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2829 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2830 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2831 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2832 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2833 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2834 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2835 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2838 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2839 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2842 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2843 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2847 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2848 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2849 of whether it has any unread articles.
2851 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2852 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2854 @item broken-reply-to
2855 @cindex broken-reply-to
2856 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2857 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2858 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2859 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2860 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2861 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2865 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2866 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2870 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2871 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2872 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2877 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2878 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2879 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2880 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2881 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2882 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2883 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2885 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2886 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2887 doesn't accept articles.
2891 @cindex expiring mail
2892 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2893 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2894 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2896 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2899 @cindex total-expire
2900 @cindex expiring mail
2901 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2902 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2903 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2904 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2907 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2911 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2912 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2913 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2914 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2915 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2916 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2917 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2920 @cindex expiry-target
2921 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2922 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2925 @cindex score file group parameter
2926 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2927 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2928 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2931 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2932 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2933 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2934 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2937 @cindex admin-address
2938 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2939 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2940 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2941 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2945 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2946 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2950 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2953 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2954 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2957 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2961 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2963 Here are some examples:
2967 Display only unread articles.
2970 Display everything except expirable articles.
2972 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2973 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2977 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2978 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2979 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2980 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2981 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2985 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2986 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2987 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2991 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2992 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2993 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2997 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2998 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2999 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
3001 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
3003 @item ignored-charsets
3004 @cindex ignored-charset
3005 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3006 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3007 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3009 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3012 @cindex posting-style
3013 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3014 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3015 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3016 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3017 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3019 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3020 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3021 like this in the group parameters:
3026 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3027 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3030 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3031 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3032 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3033 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3034 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3035 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3041 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3042 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3046 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3047 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3048 mail source for this group.
3052 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3053 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3054 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3055 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3056 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3060 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3061 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3062 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3063 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3065 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3066 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3067 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3068 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3071 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3072 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3076 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3077 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3078 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3079 like the following is generated:
3082 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3083 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3087 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3088 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3090 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3091 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3093 @item (agent parameters)
3094 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of its parameters to
3095 control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3096 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3097 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3098 minimize the configuration effort.
3100 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3101 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3102 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3103 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3104 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3105 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3106 @code{eval}ed there.
3108 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3109 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3110 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3111 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3112 form needs to be set to it.
3114 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3115 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3116 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3117 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3118 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3119 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3120 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3123 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3126 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3127 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3128 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3131 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3134 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3135 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3136 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3137 into the group parameters for the group.
3139 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3140 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3141 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3142 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3143 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3145 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3146 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3147 following is added to a group parameter
3150 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3151 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3154 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3159 @vindex gnus-parameters
3160 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3161 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3162 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3166 (setq gnus-parameters
3168 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3169 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3170 (gnus-summary-line-format
3171 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3175 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3179 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3183 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3186 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3187 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3189 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3190 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3191 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3192 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3193 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3194 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3195 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3196 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3197 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3198 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3199 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3200 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3202 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3203 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3204 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3205 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3206 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3207 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3208 weekly news RSS feed
3209 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3215 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3216 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3217 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3218 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3219 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3221 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3222 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3223 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3224 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3225 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3226 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3230 @node Listing Groups
3231 @section Listing Groups
3232 @cindex group listing
3234 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3242 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3243 List all groups that have unread articles
3244 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3245 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3246 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3247 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3254 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3255 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3256 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3257 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3258 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3259 unsubscribed groups).
3263 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3264 List all unread groups on a specific level
3265 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3266 with no unread articles.
3270 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3271 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3272 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3273 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3278 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3279 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3283 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3284 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3285 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3289 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3290 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3294 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3295 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3296 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3297 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3298 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3299 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3300 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3301 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3305 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3306 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3307 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3311 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3312 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3313 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3317 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3318 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3322 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3323 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3327 @findex gnus-group-list-ticked
3328 List all groups with ticked articles (@code{gnus-group-list-ticked}).
3332 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3333 List groups limited within the current selection
3334 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3338 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3339 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3343 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3344 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3348 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3349 @cindex visible group parameter
3350 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3351 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3352 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3353 get the same effect.
3355 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3356 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3357 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3358 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3359 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3362 @node Sorting Groups
3363 @section Sorting Groups
3364 @cindex sorting groups
3366 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3367 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3368 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3369 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3370 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3371 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3376 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3377 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3378 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3380 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3381 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3382 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3384 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3385 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3386 Sort by group level.
3388 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3389 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3390 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3392 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3393 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3394 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3395 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3397 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3398 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3399 Sort by number of unread articles.
3401 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3403 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3405 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3406 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3407 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3412 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3413 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3417 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3418 some sorting criteria:
3422 @kindex G S a (Group)
3423 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3424 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3425 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3428 @kindex G S u (Group)
3429 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3430 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3431 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3434 @kindex G S l (Group)
3435 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3436 Sort the group buffer by group level
3437 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3440 @kindex G S v (Group)
3441 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3442 Sort the group buffer by group score
3443 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3446 @kindex G S r (Group)
3447 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3448 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3449 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3452 @kindex G S m (Group)
3453 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3454 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3455 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3458 @kindex G S n (Group)
3459 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3460 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3461 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3465 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3466 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3468 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3469 commands will sort in reverse order.
3471 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3475 @kindex G P a (Group)
3476 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3477 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3478 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3481 @kindex G P u (Group)
3482 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3483 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3484 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3487 @kindex G P l (Group)
3488 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3489 Sort the groups by group level
3490 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3493 @kindex G P v (Group)
3494 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3495 Sort the groups by group score
3496 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3499 @kindex G P r (Group)
3500 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3501 Sort the groups by group rank
3502 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3505 @kindex G P m (Group)
3506 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3507 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3508 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3511 @kindex G P n (Group)
3512 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3513 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3514 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3517 @kindex G P s (Group)
3518 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3519 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3523 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3527 @node Group Maintenance
3528 @section Group Maintenance
3529 @cindex bogus groups
3534 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3535 Find bogus groups and delete them
3536 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3540 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3541 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3542 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3543 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3544 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3548 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3549 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3550 @cindex expiring mail
3551 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3552 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3553 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3554 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3557 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3558 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3559 @cindex expiring mail
3560 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3561 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3566 @node Browse Foreign Server
3567 @section Browse Foreign Server
3568 @cindex foreign servers
3569 @cindex browsing servers
3574 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3575 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3576 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3577 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3580 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3581 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3582 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3583 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3585 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3590 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3591 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3595 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3596 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3599 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3600 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3601 Enter the current group and display the first article
3602 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3605 @kindex RET (Browse)
3606 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3607 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3611 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3612 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3613 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3614 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3615 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3616 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3617 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3623 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3624 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3628 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3629 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3633 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3634 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3635 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3640 @section Exiting Gnus
3641 @cindex exiting Gnus
3643 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3648 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3649 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3650 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3651 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3655 @findex gnus-group-exit
3656 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3657 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3661 @findex gnus-group-quit
3662 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3663 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3666 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3667 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3668 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3669 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3670 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3671 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3677 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3678 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3679 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3685 @section Group Topics
3688 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3689 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3690 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3691 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3692 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3693 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3697 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3698 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3709 2: alt.religion.emacs
3712 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3714 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3715 13: comp.sources.unix
3718 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3720 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3721 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3722 is a toggling command.)
3724 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3725 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3726 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3727 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3730 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3731 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3732 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3735 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3739 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3740 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3741 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3742 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3743 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3747 @node Topic Commands
3748 @subsection Topic Commands
3749 @cindex topic commands
3751 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3752 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3753 definitions slightly.
3755 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3756 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3757 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3758 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3759 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3760 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3762 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3769 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3770 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3771 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3775 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3777 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3778 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3779 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3780 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3783 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3784 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3785 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3786 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3790 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3791 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3792 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3793 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3799 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3800 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3801 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3805 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3806 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3807 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3810 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3811 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3812 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3813 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3814 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3816 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3817 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3821 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3822 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3829 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3831 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3832 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3833 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3834 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3835 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3836 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3840 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3846 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3847 Move the current group to some other topic
3848 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3849 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3853 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3854 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3858 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3859 Copy the current group to some other topic
3860 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3861 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3865 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3866 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3867 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3871 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3872 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3873 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3877 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3878 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3879 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3880 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3881 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3882 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3883 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3886 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3887 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3891 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3892 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3893 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3897 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3898 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3899 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3903 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3904 Toggle hiding empty topics
3905 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3909 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3910 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3911 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3912 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3915 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3916 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3917 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3918 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3919 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3922 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3923 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3924 @cindex expiring mail
3925 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3926 expiry process (if any)
3927 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3931 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3932 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3935 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3936 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3937 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3941 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3942 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3943 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3946 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3947 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3948 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3951 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3952 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3953 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3957 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3958 @cindex group parameters
3959 @cindex topic parameters
3961 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3962 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3967 @node Topic Variables
3968 @subsection Topic Variables
3969 @cindex topic variables
3971 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3972 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3974 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3975 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3976 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3989 Number of groups in the topic.
3991 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3993 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3996 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3997 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3998 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
4001 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
4002 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
4004 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
4005 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
4006 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
4010 @subsection Topic Sorting
4011 @cindex topic sorting
4013 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4019 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4020 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4021 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4022 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4025 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4026 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4027 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4028 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4031 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4032 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4033 Sort the current topic by group level
4034 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4037 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4038 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4039 Sort the current topic by group score
4040 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4043 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4044 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4045 Sort the current topic by group rank
4046 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4049 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4050 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4051 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4052 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4055 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4056 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4057 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4058 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4061 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4062 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4063 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4064 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4065 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4069 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4070 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4074 @node Topic Topology
4075 @subsection Topic Topology
4076 @cindex topic topology
4079 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4086 2: alt.religion.emacs
4089 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4091 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4092 13: comp.sources.unix
4096 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4097 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4098 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4103 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4104 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4108 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4109 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4110 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4111 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4112 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4113 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4115 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4116 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4117 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4120 @node Topic Parameters
4121 @subsection Topic Parameters
4122 @cindex topic parameters
4124 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4125 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4126 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4127 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4128 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4130 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4135 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4136 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4137 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4140 @item subscribe-level
4141 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4142 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4143 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4147 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4148 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4149 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4150 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4157 2: alt.religion.emacs
4161 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4163 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4164 13: comp.sources.unix
4169 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4170 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4171 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4172 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4173 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4174 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4176 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4177 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4178 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4179 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4180 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4182 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4183 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4184 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4185 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4186 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4187 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4188 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4189 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4192 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4193 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4194 @cindex non-ascii group names
4196 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4197 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4198 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4199 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4200 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4201 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4202 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4205 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4206 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4207 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4208 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4209 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4210 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4211 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4212 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4215 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4216 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4217 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4218 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4219 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4222 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4223 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4226 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4227 ones specified for the same groups with the
4228 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4230 A select method can be very long, like:
4234 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4235 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4236 (nntp-open-connection-function
4237 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4238 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4239 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4240 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4241 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4244 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4245 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4248 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4249 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4250 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4251 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4252 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4253 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4256 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4257 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4261 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4262 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4265 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4266 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4267 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4268 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4269 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4270 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4272 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4276 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4277 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4278 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4279 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4280 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4281 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4283 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4284 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4285 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4286 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4287 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4288 names and directory names.
4290 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4291 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4292 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4293 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4294 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4295 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4297 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4298 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4299 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4300 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4302 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4303 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4304 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4305 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4307 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4308 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4309 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4310 typical case where you have to customize
4311 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4312 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4313 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4314 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4317 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4318 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4319 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4320 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4323 @node Misc Group Stuff
4324 @section Misc Group Stuff
4327 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4328 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4329 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4330 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4331 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4338 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4339 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4340 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4343 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4346 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4349 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4350 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4354 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4355 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4356 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4360 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4361 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4362 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4363 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4364 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4365 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4366 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4370 @findex gnus-group-mail
4371 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4372 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4373 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4374 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4378 @findex gnus-group-news
4379 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4380 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4381 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4383 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4384 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4385 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4386 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4387 for this to work though.
4391 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4393 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4394 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4395 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4400 Variables for the group buffer:
4404 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4405 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4406 is called after the group buffer has been
4409 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4410 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4411 is called after the group buffer is
4412 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4415 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4416 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4417 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4418 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4420 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4421 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4422 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4423 whether they are empty or not.
4427 @node Scanning New Messages
4428 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4429 @cindex new messages
4430 @cindex scanning new news
4436 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4437 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4438 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4439 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4440 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4441 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4446 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4447 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4448 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4449 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4450 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4451 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4452 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4454 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4455 @cindex activating groups
4457 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4458 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4463 @findex gnus-group-restart
4464 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4465 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4466 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4470 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4471 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4473 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4474 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4478 @node Group Information
4479 @subsection Group Information
4480 @cindex group information
4481 @cindex information on groups
4488 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4489 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4492 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4493 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4494 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4495 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4496 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4497 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4498 used for fetching the file.
4500 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4501 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4505 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4507 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4508 @cindex describing groups
4509 @cindex group description
4510 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4511 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4512 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4516 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4517 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4518 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4525 @findex gnus-version
4526 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4530 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4531 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4534 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4537 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4538 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4542 @node Group Timestamp
4543 @subsection Group Timestamp
4545 @cindex group timestamps
4547 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4548 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4549 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4552 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4555 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4557 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4558 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4561 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4562 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4565 This will result in lines looking like:
4568 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4569 0: custom 19961002T012713
4572 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4573 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4577 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4578 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4581 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4582 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4586 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4587 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4588 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4589 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4591 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4597 @subsection File Commands
4598 @cindex file commands
4604 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4605 @vindex gnus-init-file
4606 @cindex reading init file
4607 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4608 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4612 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4613 @cindex saving .newsrc
4614 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4615 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4616 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4619 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4620 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4621 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4626 @node Sieve Commands
4627 @subsection Sieve Commands
4628 @cindex group sieve commands
4630 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4631 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4632 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4633 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4634 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4636 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4637 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4638 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4639 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4640 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4641 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4642 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4643 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4644 regenerate the Sieve script.
4646 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4647 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4648 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4649 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4650 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4651 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4652 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4653 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4654 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4655 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4658 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4659 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4664 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4670 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4671 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4672 @cindex generating sieve script
4673 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4674 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4678 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4679 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4680 @cindex updating sieve script
4681 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4682 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4683 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4688 @node Summary Buffer
4689 @chapter Summary Buffer
4690 @cindex summary buffer
4692 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4693 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4695 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4696 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4698 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4700 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4701 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4705 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4706 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4707 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4709 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4713 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4714 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4715 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4716 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4717 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4718 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4719 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4720 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4721 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4722 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4723 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4724 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4725 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4726 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
4727 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4728 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4729 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4730 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4731 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4732 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4733 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4734 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4735 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4736 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4737 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4738 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4739 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4740 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4741 or reselecting the current group.
4742 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4743 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4744 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4745 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4749 @node Summary Buffer Format
4750 @section Summary Buffer Format
4751 @cindex summary buffer format
4755 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4756 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4757 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4763 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4764 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4765 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4766 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4769 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4770 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4771 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4772 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4773 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4774 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4775 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4776 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4777 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4778 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4779 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4782 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4783 'mail-extract-address-components)
4786 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4787 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4788 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4789 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4792 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4793 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4795 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4796 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4797 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4798 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4799 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4801 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4802 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4803 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4804 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4805 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4806 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4808 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4810 The following format specification characters and extended format
4811 specification(s) are understood:
4817 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4818 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4820 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4821 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4822 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4824 Full @code{From} header.
4826 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4828 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4831 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4832 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4833 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4834 may be more thorough.
4836 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4839 Number of lines in the article.
4841 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4842 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4844 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4845 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4847 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4849 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4850 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4863 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4864 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4865 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4866 line-drawing glyphs.
4868 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4869 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4870 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4871 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4873 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4874 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4875 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4876 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4878 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4879 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4880 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4881 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4883 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4884 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4885 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4887 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4888 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4889 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4891 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4892 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4893 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4895 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4896 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4897 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4902 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4903 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4905 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4906 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4908 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4909 for adopted articles.
4911 One space for each thread level.
4913 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4915 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4918 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4919 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4920 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4923 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4925 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4926 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4927 default level. If the difference between
4928 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4929 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4937 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4939 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4945 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4946 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4948 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4949 article has any children.
4955 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4957 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4958 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4960 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4961 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4962 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4963 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4964 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4965 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4968 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4969 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4970 There can only be one such area.
4972 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4973 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4974 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4975 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4976 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4977 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4979 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4980 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4982 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4985 @node To From Newsgroups
4986 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4990 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4991 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4992 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4993 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4994 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4998 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4999 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
5000 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5004 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5005 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5008 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5009 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5012 @findex gnus-extra-header
5013 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5014 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5015 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5018 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5022 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5023 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5024 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5025 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5026 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5027 headers are used instead.
5029 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5030 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5031 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5032 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5033 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5034 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5038 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5039 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5040 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5041 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5042 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5043 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5046 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5047 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5048 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5049 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5051 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5055 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5057 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5058 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5059 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5060 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5064 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5067 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5068 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5071 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5072 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5073 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5079 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5080 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5083 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5084 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5086 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5087 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5088 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5089 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5091 Here are the elements you can play with:
5097 Unprefixed group name.
5099 Current article number.
5101 Current article score.
5105 Number of unread articles in this group.
5107 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5110 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5111 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5112 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5113 and no unselected ones.
5115 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5116 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5118 Subject of the current article.
5120 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5122 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5124 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5126 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5128 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5130 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5134 @node Summary Highlighting
5135 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5139 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5140 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5141 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5142 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5143 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5145 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5146 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5147 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5148 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5150 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5151 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5152 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5153 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5155 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5156 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5157 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5158 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5159 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5160 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5163 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5164 ((> score default) . bold))
5166 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5167 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5171 @node Summary Maneuvering
5172 @section Summary Maneuvering
5173 @cindex summary movement
5175 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5176 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5178 None of these commands select articles.
5183 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5184 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5185 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5186 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5187 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5191 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5192 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5193 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5194 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5195 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5198 @kindex G g (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5200 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5201 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5204 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5205 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5206 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5207 to the group buffer.
5209 Variables related to summary movement:
5213 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5214 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5215 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5216 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5217 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5218 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5219 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5220 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5221 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5222 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5223 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5224 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5225 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5226 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5228 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5229 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5230 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5231 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5232 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5233 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5234 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5236 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5238 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5239 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5240 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5241 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5242 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5244 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5245 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5246 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5247 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5248 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5249 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5250 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5251 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5254 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5255 the given number of lines from the top.
5257 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5258 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5259 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5260 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5265 @node Choosing Articles
5266 @section Choosing Articles
5267 @cindex selecting articles
5270 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5271 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5275 @node Choosing Commands
5276 @subsection Choosing Commands
5278 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5279 and they all select and display an article.
5281 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5282 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5286 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5287 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5288 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5289 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5291 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5292 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5293 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5298 @kindex G n (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5300 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5301 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5306 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5307 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5308 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5313 @kindex G N (Summary)
5314 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5315 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5320 @kindex G P (Summary)
5321 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5322 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5325 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5326 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5327 Go to the next article with the same subject
5328 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5331 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5332 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5333 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5334 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5338 @kindex G f (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5341 Go to the first unread article
5342 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5346 @kindex G b (Summary)
5348 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5349 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5350 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5351 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5356 @kindex G l (Summary)
5357 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5358 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5361 @kindex G o (Summary)
5362 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5364 @cindex article history
5365 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5366 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5367 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5368 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5369 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5370 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5375 @kindex G j (Summary)
5376 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5377 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5378 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5383 @node Choosing Variables
5384 @subsection Choosing Variables
5386 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5389 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5390 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5391 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5392 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5393 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5394 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5396 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5397 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5398 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5399 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5400 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5403 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5404 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5405 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5406 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5407 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5408 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5409 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5410 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5411 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5412 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5413 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5414 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5415 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5416 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5421 @node Paging the Article
5422 @section Scrolling the Article
5423 @cindex article scrolling
5428 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5429 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5430 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5431 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5432 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5434 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5435 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5436 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5437 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5438 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5439 what is considered uninteresting with
5440 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5441 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5444 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5446 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5449 @kindex RET (Summary)
5450 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5451 Scroll the current article one line forward
5452 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5455 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5456 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5457 Scroll the current article one line backward
5458 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5462 @kindex A g (Summary)
5464 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5465 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5466 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5467 given a prefix, show a completely ``raw'' article, just the way it
5468 came from the server. If given a prefix twice (i.e., @kbd{C-u C-u
5469 g'}), fetch the current article, but don't run any of the article
5470 treatment functions.
5472 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
5473 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5474 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5475 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5478 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5483 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5488 @kindex A < (Summary)
5489 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5490 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5491 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5496 @kindex A > (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5498 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5502 @kindex A s (Summary)
5504 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5505 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5506 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5510 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5511 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5516 @node Reply Followup and Post
5517 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5520 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5521 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5522 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5523 * Canceling and Superseding::
5527 @node Summary Mail Commands
5528 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5530 @cindex composing mail
5532 Commands for composing a mail message:
5538 @kindex S r (Summary)
5540 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5541 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5542 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5543 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5544 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5549 @kindex S R (Summary)
5550 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5551 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5552 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5553 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5554 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5557 @kindex S w (Summary)
5558 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5559 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5560 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5561 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5562 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5563 present, that's used instead.
5566 @kindex S W (Summary)
5567 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5568 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5569 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5570 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
5571 first article to determine the recipients.
5574 @kindex S L (Summary)
5575 @findex gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original
5576 When replying to a message from a mailing list, send a reply to that
5577 message to the mailing list, and include the original message
5578 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original}).
5581 @kindex S v (Summary)
5582 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5583 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5584 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5585 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5586 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5587 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5590 @kindex S V (Summary)
5591 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5592 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5593 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5594 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5597 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5598 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5599 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5600 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5601 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5602 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5603 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5604 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5607 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5608 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5609 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5610 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5611 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5615 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5616 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5617 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5618 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5619 Forward the current article to some other person
5620 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5621 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5622 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5623 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5624 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5625 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5626 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5627 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5628 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5634 @kindex S m (Summary)
5635 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5636 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5637 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5638 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5639 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5642 @kindex S i (Summary)
5643 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5644 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5645 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5646 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5648 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5649 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5650 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5651 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5652 for this to work though.
5655 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5656 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5657 @cindex bouncing mail
5658 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5659 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5660 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5661 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5662 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5663 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5664 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5665 very well fail, though.
5668 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5670 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5671 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5672 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5673 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5674 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5675 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5676 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5677 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5679 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5680 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5681 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5682 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5683 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5685 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5686 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5689 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5690 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5692 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5693 if it were a new message before resending.
5696 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5697 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5698 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5699 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5700 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5703 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5704 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5705 @cindex crossposting
5706 @cindex excessive crossposting
5707 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5708 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5710 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5711 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5712 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5713 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5714 command understands the process/prefix convention
5715 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5719 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5720 Manual}, for more information.
5723 @node Summary Post Commands
5724 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5726 @cindex composing news
5728 Commands for posting a news article:
5734 @kindex S p (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5736 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5737 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5738 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5739 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5744 @kindex S f (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5746 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5747 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5751 @kindex S F (Summary)
5753 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5754 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5755 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5756 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5757 process/prefix convention.
5760 @kindex S n (Summary)
5761 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5762 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5763 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5766 @kindex S N (Summary)
5767 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5768 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5769 message through mail and include the original message
5770 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5771 the process/prefix convention.
5774 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5775 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5776 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5777 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5778 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5779 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5780 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5781 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5782 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5783 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5784 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5785 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5786 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5789 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5790 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5792 @cindex making digests
5793 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5794 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5795 process/prefix convention.
5798 @kindex S u (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5800 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5801 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5802 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5805 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5806 Manual}, for more information.
5809 @node Summary Message Commands
5810 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5814 @kindex S y (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5816 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5817 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5818 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5819 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5824 @node Canceling and Superseding
5825 @subsection Canceling Articles
5826 @cindex canceling articles
5827 @cindex superseding articles
5829 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5830 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5832 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5834 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5836 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5837 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5838 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5839 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5840 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5841 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5843 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5844 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5847 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5848 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5849 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5851 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5852 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5853 message, Message Manual}).
5855 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5856 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5857 your original article.
5859 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5861 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5862 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5863 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5866 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5867 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5868 have posted almost the same article twice.
5870 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5871 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5872 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5873 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5874 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5875 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5876 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5877 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5878 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5879 canceled/superseded.
5881 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5883 @node Delayed Articles
5884 @section Delayed Articles
5885 @cindex delayed sending
5886 @cindex send delayed
5888 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5889 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5890 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5891 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5894 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5897 @findex gnus-delay-article
5898 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5899 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5900 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5901 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5905 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5906 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5907 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5908 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5911 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5912 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5913 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5916 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5917 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5918 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5919 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5920 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5921 that means a time tomorrow.
5924 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5925 couple of variables:
5928 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5929 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5930 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5931 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5933 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5934 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5935 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5936 formats described above.
5938 @item gnus-delay-group
5939 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5940 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5941 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5942 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5944 @item gnus-delay-header
5945 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5946 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5947 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5948 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5951 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5952 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5953 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5954 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5955 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5957 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5958 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5959 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5960 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5961 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5962 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5963 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5966 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5967 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5968 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5969 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5970 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5971 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5972 argument is ignored.
5974 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5975 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5976 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5979 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
5980 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
5981 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
5982 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
5983 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
5986 @node Marking Articles
5987 @section Marking Articles
5988 @cindex article marking
5989 @cindex article ticking
5992 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5994 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5995 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5996 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5998 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
6001 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6005 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6006 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6007 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6008 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6009 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6010 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6014 @node Unread Articles
6015 @subsection Unread Articles
6017 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6022 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6023 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6025 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6026 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6027 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6028 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6029 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6030 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6031 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6034 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6035 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6037 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6038 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6039 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6040 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6044 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6045 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6047 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6052 @subsection Read Articles
6053 @cindex expirable mark
6055 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6060 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6061 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6062 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6065 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6066 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6069 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6070 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6071 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6074 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6075 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6078 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6079 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6082 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6083 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6086 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6087 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6090 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6091 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6094 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6095 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6099 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6100 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6101 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6105 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6106 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6108 One more special mark, though:
6112 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6113 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6115 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6116 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6117 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6118 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6124 @subsection Other Marks
6125 @cindex process mark
6128 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6134 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6135 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6136 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6137 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6138 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6141 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6142 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6143 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6144 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6147 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6148 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6149 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6152 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6153 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6154 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6157 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6158 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6159 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6160 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6163 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6164 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6165 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6166 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6167 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6168 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6171 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6172 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6173 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6174 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6177 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6178 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6179 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6180 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6181 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6185 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6186 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6187 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6188 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6189 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6190 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6193 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6194 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6195 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6196 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6197 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6198 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6202 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6203 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6204 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6205 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6206 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6209 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6210 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6211 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6212 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6213 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6214 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6218 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6219 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6220 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6222 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6223 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6224 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6228 @subsection Setting Marks
6229 @cindex setting marks
6231 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6236 @kindex M c (Summary)
6237 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6239 @cindex mark as unread
6240 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6241 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6247 @kindex M t (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6249 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6250 @xref{Article Caching}.
6255 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6257 Mark the current article as dormant
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6262 @kindex M d (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6265 Mark the current article as read
6266 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6270 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6271 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6272 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6277 @kindex M k (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6279 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6280 and then select the next unread article
6281 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6285 @kindex M K (Summary)
6286 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6288 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6292 @kindex M C (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6294 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6295 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6298 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6299 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6300 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6301 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6304 @kindex M H (Summary)
6305 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6306 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6307 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6310 @kindex M h (Summary)
6311 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6312 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6313 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6316 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6317 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6318 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6319 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6322 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6323 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6324 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6325 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6329 @kindex M e (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6332 Mark the current article as expirable
6333 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6336 @kindex M b (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6338 Set a bookmark in the current article
6339 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6342 @kindex M B (Summary)
6343 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6344 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6345 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6348 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6349 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6350 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6351 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6354 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6355 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6356 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6357 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6360 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6361 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6362 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6363 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6364 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6367 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6368 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6369 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6370 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6371 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6372 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6373 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6374 The default is @code{t}.
6377 @node Generic Marking Commands
6378 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6380 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6381 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6382 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6383 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6384 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6387 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6388 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6391 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6392 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6393 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6394 to list in this manual.
6396 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6397 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6398 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6399 article, you could say something like:
6403 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6404 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6405 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6413 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6414 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6418 @node Setting Process Marks
6419 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6420 @cindex setting process marks
6422 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6423 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6424 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6425 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6426 articles into the cache. For more information,
6427 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6434 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6435 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6436 Mark the current article with the process mark
6437 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6438 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6442 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6443 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6444 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6445 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6448 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6449 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6450 Remove the process mark from all articles
6451 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6454 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6455 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6456 Invert the list of process marked articles
6457 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6460 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6461 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6462 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6463 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6466 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6467 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6468 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6469 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6472 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6473 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6474 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6477 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6478 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6479 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6482 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6484 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6485 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6488 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6490 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6491 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6494 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6496 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6497 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6500 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6502 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6505 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6506 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6507 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6508 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6511 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6512 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6513 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6516 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6517 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6518 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6519 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6522 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6523 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6524 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6525 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6528 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6529 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6530 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6531 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6534 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6535 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6536 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6537 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6541 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6542 set process marks based on article body contents.
6549 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6550 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6551 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6554 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
6555 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
6562 @kindex / / (Summary)
6563 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6564 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6565 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6569 @kindex / a (Summary)
6570 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6571 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6572 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6576 @kindex / R (Summary)
6577 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6578 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6579 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6583 @kindex / A (Summary)
6584 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
6585 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
6586 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
6587 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
6590 @kindex / S (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6592 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6593 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6594 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6597 @kindex / x (Summary)
6598 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6599 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6600 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6601 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6606 @kindex / u (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6609 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6610 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6611 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6612 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6615 @kindex / m (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6617 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6618 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6621 @kindex / t (Summary)
6622 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6623 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6624 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6625 articles younger than that number of days.
6628 @kindex / n (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6630 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6631 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6632 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6635 @kindex / w (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6637 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6638 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6642 @kindex / . (Summary)
6643 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6644 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6645 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6648 @kindex / v (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6650 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6651 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6654 @kindex / p (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6656 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6657 group parameter predicate
6658 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6659 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6662 @kindex / r (Summary)
6663 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6664 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6665 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6670 @kindex M S (Summary)
6671 @kindex / E (Summary)
6672 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6673 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6674 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6677 @kindex / D (Summary)
6678 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6679 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6680 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6683 @kindex / * (Summary)
6684 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6685 Include all cached articles in the limit
6686 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6689 @kindex / d (Summary)
6690 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6691 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6692 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6695 @kindex / M (Summary)
6696 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6697 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6700 @kindex / T (Summary)
6701 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6702 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6705 @kindex / c (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6707 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6708 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6711 @kindex / C (Summary)
6712 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6713 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6714 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6715 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6718 @kindex / b (Summary)
6719 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6720 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6721 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6722 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6723 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6726 @kindex / h (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6728 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6729 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6734 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
6739 @kindex / N (Summary)
6740 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6741 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6742 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6745 @kindex / o (Summary)
6746 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6747 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6748 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6756 @cindex article threading
6758 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6759 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6760 hierarchical fashion.
6762 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6763 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6764 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6765 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6766 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6767 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6768 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6770 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6774 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6777 A tree-like article structure.
6780 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6783 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6784 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6785 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6786 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6787 called loose threads.
6789 @item thread gathering
6790 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6792 @item sparse threads
6793 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6794 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6800 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6801 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6805 @node Customizing Threading
6806 @subsection Customizing Threading
6807 @cindex customizing threading
6810 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6811 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6812 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6813 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6818 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6821 @cindex loose threads
6824 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6825 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6826 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6827 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6828 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6829 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6831 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6832 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6833 There are four possible values:
6837 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6838 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6839 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6840 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6841 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6846 @cindex adopting articles
6851 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6852 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6853 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6854 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6857 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6858 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6859 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6860 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6861 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6862 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6863 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6864 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6865 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6866 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6869 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6870 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6871 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6875 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6876 display them after one another.
6879 Don't gather loose threads.
6882 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6883 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6884 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6885 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6886 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6887 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6888 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6889 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6890 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6891 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6892 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6894 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6895 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6896 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6899 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6900 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6901 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6902 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6903 simplification is used.
6905 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6906 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6907 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6908 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6910 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6912 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6918 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6919 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6920 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6921 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6926 (mapconcat 'identity
6927 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6929 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6932 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6935 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6936 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6937 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6938 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6939 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6940 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6942 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6945 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6946 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6947 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6949 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6950 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6953 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6954 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6955 Remove excessive whitespace.
6957 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6958 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6959 Remove all whitespace.
6962 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6965 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6966 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6967 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6968 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6969 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6970 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6971 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6972 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6974 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6975 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6976 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6977 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6978 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6979 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6980 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6981 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6982 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6986 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6987 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6988 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6989 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6991 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6992 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6993 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6996 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
7000 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7001 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
7007 @node Filling In Threads
7008 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
7011 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
7012 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7013 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7014 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7015 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7016 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7017 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7018 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7019 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7020 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7021 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7022 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7025 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7026 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7027 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7029 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7031 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7032 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7033 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7034 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7035 slow summary generation.
7037 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7038 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7039 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7042 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7043 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7044 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7045 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7046 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7047 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7048 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7049 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7050 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7051 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7052 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7053 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7054 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7055 @code{nil} by default.
7057 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7058 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7059 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7060 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7061 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7062 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7065 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7066 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7067 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7072 @node More Threading
7073 @subsubsection More Threading
7076 @item gnus-show-threads
7077 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7078 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7079 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7080 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7081 slower and more awkward.
7083 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7084 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7085 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7088 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7089 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7090 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7095 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7096 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7097 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7100 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7101 unread, but you get my drift.)
7104 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7105 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7106 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7107 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7108 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7109 threads are expunged.
7111 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7112 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7113 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7116 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7117 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7118 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7119 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7120 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7121 result in a new thread.
7123 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7124 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7125 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7128 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7129 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7130 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7131 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7132 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7133 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7134 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7135 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7136 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7137 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7138 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7143 @node Low-Level Threading
7144 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7148 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7149 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7150 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7152 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7153 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7154 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7155 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7156 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7157 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7158 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7159 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7160 meaningful. Here's one example:
7163 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7165 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7166 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7168 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7170 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7177 @node Thread Commands
7178 @subsection Thread Commands
7179 @cindex thread commands
7185 @kindex T k (Summary)
7186 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7187 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7188 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7189 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7190 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7195 @kindex T l (Summary)
7196 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7197 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7198 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7199 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7202 @kindex T i (Summary)
7203 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7204 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7205 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7208 @kindex T # (Summary)
7209 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7210 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7211 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7214 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7215 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7216 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7217 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7220 @kindex T T (Summary)
7221 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7222 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7225 @kindex T s (Summary)
7226 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7227 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7228 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7231 @kindex T h (Summary)
7232 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7233 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7236 @kindex T S (Summary)
7237 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7238 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7241 @kindex T H (Summary)
7242 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7243 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7246 @kindex T t (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7248 Re-thread the current article's thread
7249 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7250 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7253 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7254 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7255 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7256 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7259 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7260 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7261 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7262 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7266 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7267 understand the numeric prefix.
7272 @kindex T n (Summary)
7274 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7276 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7277 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7278 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7281 @kindex T p (Summary)
7283 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7285 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7286 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7287 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7290 @kindex T d (Summary)
7291 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7292 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7295 @kindex T u (Summary)
7296 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7297 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7300 @kindex T o (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7302 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7305 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7306 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7307 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7308 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7309 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7310 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7311 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7312 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7313 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7314 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7315 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7316 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7320 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7321 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7323 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7324 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7325 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7326 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7327 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7328 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7329 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7330 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7331 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7332 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7333 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7334 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7335 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7336 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7337 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7339 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7340 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7341 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7342 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7343 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
7344 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7345 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7346 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7347 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7348 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7350 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7351 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7352 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. Exceptions
7353 to this rule are @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number} and
7354 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date}.
7356 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7357 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7358 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7359 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7360 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7361 ascending article order.
7363 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7364 by number, you could do something like:
7367 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7368 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7369 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7370 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7373 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7374 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7375 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7376 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7377 which the articles arrived.
7379 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7383 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7384 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7385 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7388 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7389 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7390 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7391 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7394 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7395 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7396 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
7397 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7398 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7399 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7400 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7401 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7402 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
7403 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7404 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7405 variable. It is very similar to the
7406 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7407 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7408 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7409 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7410 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7411 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7412 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7414 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7418 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7419 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7420 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7423 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7424 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7427 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7428 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7429 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7430 @cindex article pre-fetch
7433 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7434 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7435 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7436 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7437 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7439 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7440 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7442 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7443 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7444 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7445 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7446 connection is blocked.
7448 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7449 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7450 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7451 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7453 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7454 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7455 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7456 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7459 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7462 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7463 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7464 happen automatically.
7466 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7467 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7468 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7469 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7470 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7471 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7472 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7474 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7475 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
7476 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7477 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7478 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7479 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7480 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
7481 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7482 article data structure as the only parameter.
7484 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7485 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7488 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7489 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7490 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7491 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7494 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7497 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7498 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7499 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7501 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
7502 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
7503 After an article has been prefetched, this
7504 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
7505 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
7506 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
7507 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
7508 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
7509 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
7511 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7512 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7513 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7514 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7518 Remove articles when they are read.
7521 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7524 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7526 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7527 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7528 @c from the next group.
7531 @node Article Caching
7532 @section Article Caching
7533 @cindex article caching
7536 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7537 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7538 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7539 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7540 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7542 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7544 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7545 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7546 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7547 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7548 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7549 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7550 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7551 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7553 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7554 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7555 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7556 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7557 as dormant, and don't worry.
7559 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7561 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7562 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7563 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7564 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7565 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7566 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7567 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7568 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7569 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7570 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7572 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7573 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7574 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7575 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7576 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7577 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7578 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7579 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7580 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7581 not then be downloaded by this command.
7583 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7584 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7585 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7586 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7587 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7588 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7590 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7591 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7592 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7593 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7594 variables, the group is not cached.
7596 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7597 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7598 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7599 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7600 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7601 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7602 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7603 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7604 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7607 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7608 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7609 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7610 where, isn't that cool?
7612 @node Persistent Articles
7613 @section Persistent Articles
7614 @cindex persistent articles
7616 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7617 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7618 useful in my opinion.
7620 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7621 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7622 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7623 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7624 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7625 the expiry going on at the news server.
7627 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7628 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7629 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7635 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7636 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7639 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7640 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7641 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7642 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7646 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7648 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7649 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7650 interested in persistent articles:
7653 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7656 @node Sticky Articles
7657 @section Sticky Articles
7658 @cindex sticky articles
7660 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
7661 according to the value of the variable
7662 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
7663 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
7664 has its own article buffer.
7666 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
7667 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
7668 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
7669 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next christmas party.
7671 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
7672 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
7673 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
7677 @kindex A S (Summary)
7678 @findex gnus-sticky-article
7679 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
7680 name for this sticky article buffer.
7683 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
7689 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
7693 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
7694 Kills this sticky article buffer.
7697 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
7699 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
7700 Kill all sticky article buffers.
7701 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
7704 @node Article Backlog
7705 @section Article Backlog
7707 @cindex article backlog
7709 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7710 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7711 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7712 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7713 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7714 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7715 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7716 increase memory usage some.
7718 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7719 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7720 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7721 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7722 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7723 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7724 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7726 The default value is 20.
7729 @node Saving Articles
7730 @section Saving Articles
7731 @cindex saving articles
7733 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7734 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7735 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7736 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7737 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7739 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7740 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7741 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7743 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7744 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7745 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7747 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7748 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7749 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7750 deleted before saving.
7756 @kindex O o (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7759 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7760 Save the current article using the default article saver
7761 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7764 @kindex O m (Summary)
7765 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7766 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7767 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7770 @kindex O r (Summary)
7771 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7772 Save the current article in Rmail format
7773 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
7774 Babyl in older versions.
7777 @kindex O f (Summary)
7778 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7779 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7780 Save the current article in plain file format
7781 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7784 @kindex O F (Summary)
7785 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7786 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7787 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7790 @kindex O b (Summary)
7791 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7792 Save the current article body in plain file format
7793 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7796 @kindex O h (Summary)
7797 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7798 Save the current article in mh folder format
7799 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7802 @kindex O v (Summary)
7803 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7804 Save the current article in a VM folder
7805 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7809 @kindex O p (Summary)
7811 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7812 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
7813 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7814 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7815 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7816 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
7817 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
7818 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
7819 to a string containing the default command and options (default
7823 @kindex O P (Summary)
7824 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7825 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7826 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7827 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7828 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7829 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7830 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7834 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7835 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7836 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7837 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7838 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7839 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7840 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7841 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7842 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7843 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7844 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7845 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7849 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7850 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7851 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7852 functions below, or you can create your own.
7856 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7857 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7858 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7859 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7860 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
7861 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
7862 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
7863 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
7864 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
7865 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7866 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7868 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7869 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7870 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7871 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7872 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7873 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7875 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7876 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7877 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7878 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7879 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7880 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7881 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7883 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7884 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7885 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7886 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7887 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7888 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7890 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7891 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7892 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7893 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7894 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7896 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7897 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7898 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7899 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7900 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7901 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7903 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7904 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7905 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7906 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7907 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7910 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7911 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7912 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7913 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7914 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7916 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7917 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7918 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7919 reader to use this setting.
7921 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7922 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7923 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
7924 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
7928 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
7930 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
7931 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
7932 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
7933 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
7934 last used for saving.
7937 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
7938 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
7939 headers will be piped.
7942 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7946 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7947 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7948 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7949 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
7950 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
7951 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
7954 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7955 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7956 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7957 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7958 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7959 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7962 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7963 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7964 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7965 headers should be saved.
7968 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7969 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7970 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7971 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7974 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7975 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7976 available functions that generate names:
7980 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7981 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7982 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7984 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7985 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7986 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7988 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7989 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7990 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7992 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7993 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7994 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7996 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7997 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7998 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
8001 @vindex gnus-split-methods
8002 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
8003 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
8004 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
8005 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
8009 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
8010 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
8011 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
8012 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8015 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8016 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8017 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8018 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8019 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8020 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8021 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8022 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8023 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8025 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8026 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8027 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8028 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8030 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8031 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8032 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8035 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8036 lots of mail groups called things like
8037 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8038 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8039 following will do just that:
8042 (defun my-save-name (group)
8043 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8044 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8046 (setq gnus-split-methods
8047 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8052 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8053 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8054 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8055 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8056 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8057 all the files in the top level directory
8058 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8059 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8060 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8061 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8063 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8064 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8065 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8066 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8067 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8070 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8074 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8075 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8076 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8079 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8080 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8081 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8082 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8085 @node Decoding Articles
8086 @section Decoding Articles
8087 @cindex decoding articles
8089 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8090 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8093 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8094 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8095 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8096 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8097 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8098 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8102 @cindex article series
8103 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8104 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8105 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8106 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8107 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8109 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8110 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8111 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8113 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8114 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8115 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8117 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8118 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8119 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8122 @node Uuencoded Articles
8123 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8125 @cindex uuencoded articles
8130 @kindex X u (Summary)
8131 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8132 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8133 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8136 @kindex X U (Summary)
8137 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8138 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8139 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8142 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8143 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8144 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8147 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8148 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8149 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8150 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8154 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8155 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8156 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8157 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8158 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8160 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8161 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8162 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8163 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8166 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8167 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8168 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8169 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8170 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8171 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8175 @node Shell Archives
8176 @subsection Shell Archives
8178 @cindex shell archives
8179 @cindex shared articles
8181 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8182 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8183 some commands to deal with these:
8188 @kindex X s (Summary)
8189 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8190 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8193 @kindex X S (Summary)
8194 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8195 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8198 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8199 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8200 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8203 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8204 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8205 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8206 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8210 @node PostScript Files
8211 @subsection PostScript Files
8217 @kindex X p (Summary)
8218 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8219 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8222 @kindex X P (Summary)
8223 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8224 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8225 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8228 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8229 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8230 View the current PostScript series
8231 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8234 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8235 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8236 View and save the current PostScript series
8237 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8242 @subsection Other Files
8246 @kindex X o (Summary)
8247 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8248 Save the current series
8249 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8252 @kindex X b (Summary)
8253 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8254 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8255 doesn't really work yet.
8258 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8259 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8260 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8264 @node Decoding Variables
8265 @subsection Decoding Variables
8267 Adjective, not verb.
8270 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8271 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8272 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8276 @node Rule Variables
8277 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8278 @cindex rule variables
8280 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8281 variables are of the form
8284 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8291 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8292 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8294 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8295 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8298 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8299 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8302 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8303 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8304 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8305 user and default view rules.
8307 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8308 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8309 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8314 @node Other Decode Variables
8315 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8318 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8320 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8321 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8322 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8323 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8324 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8328 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8329 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8332 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8333 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8334 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8337 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8338 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8339 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8340 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8341 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8344 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8345 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8346 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8348 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8349 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8350 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8351 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8352 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8355 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8356 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8357 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8359 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8360 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8361 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8362 looking for files to display.
8364 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8365 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8366 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8369 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8370 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8371 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8374 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8375 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8376 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8379 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8380 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8381 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8384 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8385 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8386 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8387 decoded articles as unread.
8389 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8390 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8391 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8392 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8394 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8395 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8396 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8398 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8399 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8401 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8402 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8403 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8404 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8406 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8407 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8408 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8409 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8410 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8411 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8412 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8413 simply dropped them.
8418 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8419 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8423 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8424 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8425 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8426 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8427 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8428 for you when you post the article.
8430 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8431 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8432 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8433 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8435 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8436 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8437 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8438 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8439 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8440 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8441 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8443 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8444 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8445 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8446 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8447 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8448 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8449 Default is @code{t}.
8455 @subsection Viewing Files
8456 @cindex viewing files
8457 @cindex pseudo-articles
8459 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8460 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8461 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8462 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8463 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8464 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8465 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8467 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8468 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8469 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8470 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8472 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8473 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8474 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8476 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8477 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8478 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8479 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8480 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8482 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8483 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8484 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8485 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8486 a list of parameters to that command.
8488 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8489 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8490 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8492 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8493 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8494 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8497 @node Article Treatment
8498 @section Article Treatment
8500 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8501 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8502 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8503 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8504 these articles easier.
8507 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8508 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8509 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8510 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8511 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8512 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8513 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8514 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8515 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
8516 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
8517 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8518 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8522 @node Article Highlighting
8523 @subsection Article Highlighting
8524 @cindex highlighting
8526 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8527 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8532 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8533 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8534 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8535 Do much highlighting of the current article
8536 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8537 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8540 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8541 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8542 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8543 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8544 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8545 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8546 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8547 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8548 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8549 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8550 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8551 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8554 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8555 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8556 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8558 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8561 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8563 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8564 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8565 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8567 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8568 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8569 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8571 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8572 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8573 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8574 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8575 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8576 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8578 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8579 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8580 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8582 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8583 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8584 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8586 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8587 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8588 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8589 that it's a citation.
8591 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8592 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8593 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8595 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8596 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8597 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8599 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8600 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8601 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8602 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8604 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8605 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8606 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8607 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8608 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8615 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8616 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8617 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8618 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8619 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8620 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8621 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8622 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8627 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8630 @node Article Fontisizing
8631 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8633 @cindex article emphasis
8635 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8636 @kindex W e (Summary)
8637 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8638 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8639 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8640 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8642 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8643 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8644 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8645 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8646 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8647 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8648 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8649 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8653 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8654 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8655 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8664 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8665 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8666 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8667 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8668 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8669 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8670 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8671 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8672 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8673 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8674 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8675 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8676 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8678 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8679 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8680 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8684 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8687 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8689 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8690 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8691 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8692 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8694 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8697 @node Article Hiding
8698 @subsection Article Hiding
8699 @cindex article hiding
8701 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8702 too much cruft in most articles.
8707 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8708 @findex gnus-article-hide
8709 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8710 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8711 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8714 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8715 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8716 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8720 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8721 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8722 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8723 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8726 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8727 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8728 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8732 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8733 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8734 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8735 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8736 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8737 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8738 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8739 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8743 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8744 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8745 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8746 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8751 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8752 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8753 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8754 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8757 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8758 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8759 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8760 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8763 @cindex stripping advertisements
8764 @cindex advertisements
8765 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8766 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8767 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8768 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8769 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8770 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8771 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8772 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8773 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8774 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8780 (setq gnus-article-banner-alist
8782 "^\n*--~--~---------\\(.+\n\\)+")))
8785 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8786 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8787 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8791 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8792 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8793 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8794 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8795 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8796 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8797 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8798 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8799 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8800 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8801 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8804 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8805 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8811 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8812 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8813 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8814 customizing the hiding:
8818 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8819 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8820 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8821 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8822 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8823 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8824 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8829 Starting point of the hidden text.
8831 Ending point of the hidden text.
8833 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8835 Number of lines of hidden text.
8838 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8839 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8840 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8841 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8842 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8847 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8848 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8850 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8851 following two variables:
8854 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8855 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8856 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8857 50), hide the cited text.
8859 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8860 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8861 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8866 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8867 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8868 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8869 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8870 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8871 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8875 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8876 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8877 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8879 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8880 citation customization.
8882 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8886 @node Article Washing
8887 @subsection Article Washing
8889 @cindex article washing
8891 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8892 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8894 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8895 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8898 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8899 articles by default.
8904 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8905 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8909 Force redisplaying of the current article
8910 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8911 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8912 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8913 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8916 @kindex W l (Summary)
8917 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8918 Remove page breaks from the current article
8919 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8923 @kindex W r (Summary)
8924 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8925 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8926 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8927 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8928 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8929 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8931 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8932 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8933 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8934 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8937 @kindex W m (Summary)
8938 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8939 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8942 @kindex W i (Summary)
8943 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8944 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8945 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8946 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8947 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8948 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8953 @kindex W t (Summary)
8955 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8956 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8957 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8960 @kindex W v (Summary)
8961 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8962 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8963 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8966 @kindex W o (Summary)
8967 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8968 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8971 @kindex W d (Summary)
8972 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8973 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8975 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8977 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8978 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8979 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8980 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8983 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8984 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8985 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8986 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8989 @kindex W U (Summary)
8990 @findex gnus-article-treat-non-ascii
8992 @cindex Non-@acronym{ASCII}
8993 Translate many non-@acronym{ASCII} characters into their
8994 @acronym{ASCII} equivalents (@code{gnus-article-treat-non-ascii}).
8995 This is mostly useful if you're on a terminal that has a limited font
8996 and does't show accented characters, ``advanced'' punctuation, and the
8997 like. For instance, @samp{»} is tranlated into @samp{>>}, and so on.
9000 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
9001 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
9002 @cindex Outlook Express
9003 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
9004 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
9005 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
9008 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
9009 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
9010 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
9011 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
9012 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
9013 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
9014 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
9015 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
9016 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
9017 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9020 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9021 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9022 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9023 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9026 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9027 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9028 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9029 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9032 @kindex W w (Summary)
9033 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9034 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9036 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9040 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9041 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9042 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9045 @kindex W C (Summary)
9046 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9047 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9048 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9051 @kindex W c (Summary)
9052 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9053 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9054 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9055 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9056 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9059 @kindex W q (Summary)
9060 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9061 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9062 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9063 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9064 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9065 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9066 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9067 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9068 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9071 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9072 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9073 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9074 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9075 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9076 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9077 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9078 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9081 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9082 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9083 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9084 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9085 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9088 @kindex W A (Summary)
9089 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9090 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9091 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9092 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9093 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9096 @kindex W u (Summary)
9097 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9098 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9099 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9100 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9101 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9104 @kindex W h (Summary)
9105 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9106 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9107 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9108 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9110 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9111 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9112 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9114 The default is to use the function specified by
9115 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9116 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9117 @acronym{HTML}. Pre-defined functions you can use include:
9121 Use Gnus simple html renderer.
9124 Use Gnus rendered based on w3m.
9130 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9132 @item w3m-standalone
9133 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9136 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9139 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9142 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9147 @kindex W b (Summary)
9148 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9149 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9150 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9153 @kindex W B (Summary)
9154 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9155 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9156 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9159 @kindex W p (Summary)
9160 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9161 Verify a signed control message
9162 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9163 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9164 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9165 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9166 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9167 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9170 @kindex W s (Summary)
9171 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9172 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9173 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9174 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9177 @kindex W a (Summary)
9178 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9179 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9180 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9183 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9184 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9185 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9186 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9189 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9190 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9191 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9192 lines with a single empty line.
9193 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9196 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9197 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9198 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9199 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9202 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9203 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9204 Do all the three commands above
9205 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9208 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9209 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9210 Remove all blank lines
9211 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9214 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9215 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9216 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9217 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9220 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9221 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9222 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9223 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9227 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9230 @node Article Header
9231 @subsection Article Header
9233 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9238 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9239 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9240 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9243 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9244 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9245 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9246 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9249 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9250 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9251 Fold all the message headers
9252 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9255 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9256 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9257 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9258 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9263 @node Article Buttons
9264 @subsection Article Buttons
9267 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9268 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9269 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9270 button on these references.
9272 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9273 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9274 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9275 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9276 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9280 @item gnus-button-alist
9281 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9282 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9285 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9291 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9292 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9293 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9294 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9295 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9298 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9299 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9300 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9303 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9304 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9305 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9306 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9307 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9309 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9312 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9315 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9316 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9320 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9323 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9326 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9327 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9328 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9329 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9330 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9333 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9336 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9339 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9342 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9343 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9345 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9347 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9348 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9349 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9350 default values of the variables above.
9352 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9354 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9355 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9356 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9357 argument with a string naming the man page.
9359 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9361 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9362 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9363 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9365 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9366 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9367 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9368 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9369 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9370 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9371 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9372 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
9373 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9374 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9375 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9376 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9378 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9379 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9380 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9381 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9382 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9385 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9386 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9387 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9388 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9392 @item gnus-article-button-face
9393 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9394 Face used on buttons.
9396 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9397 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9398 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9402 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9405 @node Article Button Levels
9406 @subsection Article button levels
9407 @cindex button levels
9408 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9409 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9410 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9411 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9412 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9413 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9414 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9415 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9418 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9419 (setq gnus-parameters
9420 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9421 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9422 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9427 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9428 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9429 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9430 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9431 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9432 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9434 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9435 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9436 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9437 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9438 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9439 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9440 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9441 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9442 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9443 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9444 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9445 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9446 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9448 @item gnus-button-man-level
9449 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9450 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9451 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9453 @item gnus-button-message-level
9454 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9455 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9456 Related variables and functions include
9457 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9458 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9459 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9460 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9466 @subsection Article Date
9468 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9469 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9470 when the article was sent.
9475 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9476 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9477 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9478 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9481 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9482 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9484 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9485 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9488 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9489 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9490 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9493 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9494 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9495 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9496 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9499 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9500 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9501 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9502 @findex format-time-string
9503 Display the date using a user-defined format
9504 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9505 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9506 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9507 for a list of possible format specs.
9510 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9511 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9512 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9513 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9514 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9515 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9518 Date: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9521 This line is updated continually by default. The frequency (in
9522 seconds) is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-update-date-headers}
9525 If you wish to switch updating off, say:
9527 @vindex gnus-article-update-date-headers
9529 (setq gnus-article-update-date-headers nil)
9532 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9535 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9536 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9537 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9538 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9539 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9540 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9541 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9545 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9546 preferred format automatically.
9549 @node Article Display
9550 @subsection Article Display
9556 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9557 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9559 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9560 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9562 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9563 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9565 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9566 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9568 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9569 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9571 Gravatars reside on-line and are fetched from
9572 @uref{http://www.gravatar.com/} (@pxref{Gravatars}).
9574 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9579 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9580 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9581 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9582 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9585 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9586 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9587 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9588 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9591 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9592 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9593 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9596 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9597 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9598 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9601 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9602 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9603 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9604 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9607 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9608 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9609 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9610 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9613 @kindex W D g (Summary)
9614 @findex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
9615 Gravatarify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9618 @kindex W D h (Summary)
9619 @findex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
9620 Gravatarify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9621 (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9624 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9625 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9626 Remove all images from the article buffer
9627 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9630 @kindex W D W (Summary)
9631 @findex gnus-html-show-images
9632 If you're reading an @acronym{HTML} article rendered with
9633 @code{gnus-article-html}, then you can insert any blocked images in
9634 the buffer with this command.
9635 (@code{gnus-html-show-images}).
9641 @node Article Signature
9642 @subsection Article Signature
9644 @cindex article signature
9646 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9647 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9648 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9649 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9650 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9651 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9652 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9653 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9654 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9657 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9658 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9659 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9660 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9661 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9662 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9663 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9664 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9667 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9670 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9671 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9672 signature when displaying articles.
9676 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9679 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9682 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9683 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9685 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9686 in question is not a signature.
9689 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9690 listed above. Here's an example:
9693 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9694 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9697 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9698 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9699 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9700 signature after all.
9703 @node Article Miscellanea
9704 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9708 @kindex A t (Summary)
9709 @findex gnus-article-babel
9710 Translate the article from one language to another
9711 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9717 @section MIME Commands
9718 @cindex MIME decoding
9720 @cindex viewing attachments
9722 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9723 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9729 @kindex K v (Summary)
9730 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9733 @kindex K o (Summary)
9734 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9737 @kindex K O (Summary)
9738 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9739 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9740 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9743 @kindex K r (Summary)
9744 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9747 @kindex K d (Summary)
9748 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9752 @kindex K c (Summary)
9753 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9756 @kindex K e (Summary)
9757 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9760 @kindex K i (Summary)
9761 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9764 @kindex K | (Summary)
9765 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9768 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9773 @kindex K H (Summary)
9774 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
9775 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
9776 Inline images embedded in a message using the @code{cid} scheme, as they
9777 are generally considered to be safe, will be processed properly. The
9778 message header is added to the beginning of every @acronym{HTML} part
9779 unless the prefix argument is given.
9781 Warning: Spammers use links to images (using the @code{http} scheme) in
9782 @acronym{HTML} articles to verify whether you have read the message. As
9783 this command passes the @acronym{HTML} content to the browser without
9784 eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should only use it for mails from
9787 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
9788 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
9790 This command creates temporary files to pass @acronym{HTML} contents
9791 including images if any to the browser, and deletes them when exiting
9792 the group (if you want).
9795 @kindex K b (Summary)
9796 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9797 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9801 @kindex K m (Summary)
9802 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9803 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9804 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9805 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9806 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9809 @kindex X m (Summary)
9810 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9811 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9812 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9813 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9816 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9817 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9818 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9819 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9822 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9823 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9824 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9825 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9828 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9829 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9830 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9831 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9833 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9834 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9835 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9836 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9837 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9838 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9841 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9842 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9843 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9844 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9851 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9852 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9853 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9854 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9857 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9860 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9864 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9865 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9866 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9867 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9868 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9869 default is @code{t}.
9871 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9872 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9875 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9876 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9877 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9878 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9879 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9880 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9881 for encoding in Gnus.
9883 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9884 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9885 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9886 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9887 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9888 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9889 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9890 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9892 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9893 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9894 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9895 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9896 displayed. This variable overrides
9897 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9898 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9901 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9902 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9903 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9905 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9906 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9907 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9908 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9909 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9911 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9912 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9913 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9914 default value is @code{nil}.
9916 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9917 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9918 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9919 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9920 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9921 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9922 save all jpegs into some directory).
9924 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9927 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9928 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9930 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9931 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9932 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9933 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9934 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9937 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9938 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9939 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9941 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9942 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9943 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9945 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9946 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9947 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9949 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
9950 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9951 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9952 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9953 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9955 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9956 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9957 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9958 overrides @code{nil} values of
9959 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9960 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9962 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9963 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9964 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9965 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9967 Ready-made functions include@*
9968 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9969 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9970 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9971 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9972 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9973 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9974 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9975 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9976 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9977 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9978 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9979 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9981 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9982 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9984 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9985 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9986 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9989 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9990 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9991 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9992 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9996 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
10005 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
10006 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
10007 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
10008 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
10009 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
10010 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
10011 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
10013 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
10014 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
10015 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
10016 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
10018 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
10019 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
10020 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
10021 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10022 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10023 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10024 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10025 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10026 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10028 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10029 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10030 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10031 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10032 quoted-printable header encoding.
10034 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10035 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10036 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10040 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10043 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10044 means encode all charsets),
10046 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10047 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10048 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10055 @cindex coding system aliases
10056 @cindex preferred charset
10058 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10059 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10060 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10062 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10064 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10065 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10068 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10069 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10072 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10073 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10075 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10078 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10081 This will almost do the right thing.
10083 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10087 (codepage-setup 1251)
10088 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10092 @node Article Commands
10093 @section Article Commands
10100 @kindex A P (Summary)
10101 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10102 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10103 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10104 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10105 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10106 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10109 @vindex gnus-fetch-partial-articles
10110 @findex gnus-summary-show-complete-article
10111 If @code{<backend>-fetch-partial-articles} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
10112 fetch partial articles, if the backend it fetches them from supports
10113 it. Currently only @code{nnimap} does. If you're looking at a
10114 partial article, and want to see the complete article instead, then
10115 the @kbd{A C} command (@code{gnus-summary-show-complete-article}) will
10121 @node Summary Sorting
10122 @section Summary Sorting
10123 @cindex summary sorting
10125 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10126 can't really see why you'd want that.
10131 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10132 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10133 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10135 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10136 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10137 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10138 Sort by most recent article number
10139 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10142 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10143 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10144 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10147 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10148 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10149 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10152 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10153 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10154 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10157 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10158 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10159 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10161 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10162 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10163 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10164 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10167 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10168 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10169 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10172 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10173 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10174 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10177 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10178 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10179 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10182 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10183 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10184 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10187 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10188 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10189 Sort using the default sorting method
10190 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10193 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10194 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10195 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10196 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10197 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10200 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10203 @node Finding the Parent
10204 @section Finding the Parent
10205 @cindex parent articles
10206 @cindex referring articles
10210 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10211 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10212 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10213 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10214 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10215 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10216 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10217 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10218 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10219 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10221 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10222 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10223 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10224 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
10225 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
10228 @item A R (Summary)
10229 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10230 @kindex A R (Summary)
10231 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10232 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10234 @item A T (Summary)
10235 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10236 @kindex A T (Summary)
10237 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10238 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10239 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10240 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10241 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10242 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10243 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10245 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10246 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
10247 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10248 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10249 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10250 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10252 @item M-^ (Summary)
10253 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10254 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10256 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10257 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10258 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10259 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10260 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10261 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10263 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10264 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10265 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10268 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10269 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10270 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10271 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10272 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10273 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10276 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10277 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10278 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10281 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10282 then ask Google if that fails:
10285 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10287 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10290 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10291 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10292 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10293 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10294 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10295 group. @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
10297 Fortunately, the special @code{nnregistry} back end is able to locate
10298 articles in any groups, regardless of their back end (@pxref{Registry
10299 Article Refer Method, fetching by @code{Message-ID} using the
10302 @node Alternative Approaches
10303 @section Alternative Approaches
10305 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10306 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
10309 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
10310 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
10314 @node Pick and Read
10315 @subsection Pick and Read
10316 @cindex pick and read
10318 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
10319 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
10320 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
10321 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
10323 @findex gnus-pick-mode
10324 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
10325 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
10326 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
10327 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
10328 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
10330 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10335 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10336 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10337 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10338 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10339 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10340 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10341 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10342 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10345 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10346 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10347 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10348 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10352 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10353 Unpick the thread or article
10354 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10355 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10356 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10357 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10358 the thread or article at that line.
10362 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10363 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10364 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10365 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10366 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10367 will still be visible when you are reading.
10371 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10372 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10373 which is mapped to the same function
10374 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10376 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10379 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10382 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10383 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10385 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10386 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10387 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10389 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10390 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10391 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10392 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10393 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10394 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10395 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10398 @node Binary Groups
10399 @subsection Binary Groups
10400 @cindex binary groups
10402 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10403 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10404 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10405 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10406 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10407 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10408 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10411 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10412 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10413 command, when you have turned on this mode
10414 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10416 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10417 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10421 @section Tree Display
10424 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10425 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10426 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10427 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10428 in the tree buffer.
10430 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10433 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10434 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10435 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10437 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10438 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10439 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10440 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10441 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10443 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10444 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10445 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10446 default is @code{modeline}.
10448 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10449 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10450 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10451 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10452 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10453 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10454 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10460 The name of the poster.
10462 The @code{From} header.
10464 The number of the article.
10466 The opening bracket.
10468 The closing bracket.
10473 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10475 Variables related to the display are:
10478 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10479 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10480 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10481 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10483 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10484 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10485 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10487 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10489 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10490 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10491 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10492 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10496 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10497 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10498 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10499 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10500 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10501 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10502 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10503 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10504 other windows displayed next to it.
10506 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10510 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10511 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10514 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10515 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10516 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10517 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10518 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10519 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10520 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10524 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10527 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10537 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10542 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10543 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10545 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10547 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10553 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10554 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10555 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10558 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10559 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10560 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10561 (gnus-add-configuration
10565 (summary 0.75 point)
10570 @xref{Window Layout}.
10573 @node Mail Group Commands
10574 @section Mail Group Commands
10575 @cindex mail group commands
10577 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10578 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10580 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10581 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10586 @kindex B e (Summary)
10587 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10588 @cindex expiring mail
10589 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10590 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10591 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10592 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10595 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10596 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10597 @cindex expiring mail
10598 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10599 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10600 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10601 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10604 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10605 @cindex deleting mail
10606 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10607 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10608 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10609 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10610 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10613 @kindex B m (Summary)
10615 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10616 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10617 Move the article from one mail group to another
10618 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10619 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10622 @kindex B c (Summary)
10624 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10625 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10626 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10627 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10628 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10631 @kindex B B (Summary)
10632 @cindex crosspost mail
10633 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10634 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10635 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10636 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10637 be properly updated.
10640 @kindex B i (Summary)
10641 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10642 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10643 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10644 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10647 @kindex B I (Summary)
10648 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10649 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10650 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10651 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10654 @kindex B r (Summary)
10655 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10656 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10657 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10658 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10659 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10660 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10661 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10662 (which is the default).
10666 @kindex B w (Summary)
10667 @kindex e (Summary)
10668 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10669 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10670 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10671 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10672 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10673 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10674 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10677 @kindex B q (Summary)
10678 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10679 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10680 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10681 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10684 @kindex B t (Summary)
10685 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10686 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10687 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10690 @kindex B p (Summary)
10691 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10692 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10693 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10694 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10695 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10696 article from your news server (or rather, from
10697 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10698 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10699 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10700 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10701 just not have arrived yet.
10704 @kindex K E (Summary)
10705 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10706 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10707 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10708 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10709 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10713 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10714 @cindex moving articles
10715 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10716 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10717 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10718 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10719 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10720 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10721 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10724 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10725 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10726 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10727 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10731 @node Various Summary Stuff
10732 @section Various Summary Stuff
10735 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10736 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10737 * Summary Generation Commands::
10738 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10742 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10743 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10744 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10745 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10746 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10747 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10749 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10750 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10751 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10754 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10755 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10756 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10758 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10759 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10760 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10761 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10762 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10763 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10766 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10767 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10768 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10769 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10770 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10772 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10773 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10774 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10777 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10778 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10779 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10780 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10781 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10782 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10783 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10784 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10785 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10786 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10788 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10789 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10790 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10791 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10792 list of articles to be selected.
10794 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10795 the list in one particular group:
10798 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10799 (if (string= group "some.group")
10800 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10804 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10805 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10806 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10807 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10808 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10811 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10812 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10813 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10814 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10815 variable will be used instead.
10817 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10818 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10819 buffers. For example:
10822 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10823 '(message-use-followup-to
10824 (gnus-visible-headers .
10825 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10828 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10830 @vindex gnus-propagate-marks
10831 @item gnus-propagate-marks
10832 If non-@code{nil}, propagate marks to the backends for possible
10833 storing. @xref{NNTP marks}, and friends, for a more fine-grained
10839 @node Summary Group Information
10840 @subsection Summary Group Information
10845 @kindex H d (Summary)
10846 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10847 Give a brief description of the current group
10848 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10849 rereading the description from the server.
10852 @kindex H h (Summary)
10853 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10854 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10855 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10858 @kindex H i (Summary)
10859 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10860 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10864 @node Searching for Articles
10865 @subsection Searching for Articles
10870 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10871 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10872 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10873 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10876 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10877 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10878 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10879 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10882 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10883 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10884 Repeat the previous search forwards
10885 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10888 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10889 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10890 Repeat the previous search backwards
10891 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10894 @kindex & (Summary)
10895 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10896 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10897 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10898 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10899 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10900 search backward instead.
10902 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10903 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10906 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10907 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10908 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10909 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10912 @node Summary Generation Commands
10913 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10918 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10919 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10920 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10923 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10924 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10925 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10926 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10929 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10930 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10931 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10932 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10935 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10936 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10937 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10938 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10943 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10944 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10950 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10951 @kindex A D (Summary)
10952 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10953 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10954 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10955 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10956 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10957 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10958 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10959 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10962 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
10963 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
10964 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
10969 Select the next article.
10972 Select the next unread article.
10974 @item next-noselect
10975 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
10977 @item next-unread-noselect
10978 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
10981 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
10982 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
10985 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10986 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10987 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10988 several documents into one biiig group
10989 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10990 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10991 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10992 command understands the process/prefix convention
10993 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10996 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10997 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10998 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10999 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
11000 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
11001 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
11004 @kindex = (Summary)
11005 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
11006 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
11007 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
11010 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
11011 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
11012 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11013 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
11016 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
11017 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
11018 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11019 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11024 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11025 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11026 @cindex summary exit
11027 @cindex exiting groups
11029 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11030 group and return you to the group buffer.
11037 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11038 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11039 @kindex q (Summary)
11040 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11041 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11042 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11043 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11044 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11045 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11046 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11047 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11048 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11049 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11050 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11051 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11055 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11056 @kindex Q (Summary)
11057 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11058 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11059 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11063 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11064 @kindex c (Summary)
11065 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11066 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11067 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11068 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11071 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11072 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11073 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11074 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11077 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11078 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11079 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11080 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11083 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11084 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11085 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11086 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11090 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11091 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11092 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11093 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11094 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11095 all articles, both read and unread.
11099 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11100 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11101 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11102 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11103 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11104 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11105 articles, both read and unread.
11108 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11109 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11110 Exit the group and go to the next group
11111 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11114 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11115 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11116 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11117 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11120 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11121 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11122 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11123 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11124 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11125 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11128 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11129 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11130 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11131 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11133 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11134 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11135 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11136 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11137 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11138 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11139 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11140 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11141 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11142 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11143 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11144 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11146 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11148 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11149 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11150 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
11151 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11152 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11153 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11154 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11155 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11156 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11159 @node Crosspost Handling
11160 @section Crosspost Handling
11164 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11165 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11166 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11167 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11168 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11171 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11172 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11173 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11174 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11175 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11177 @cindex cross-posting
11179 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11180 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11181 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11182 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11183 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11184 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11185 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11186 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11187 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11188 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11189 the cross reference mechanism.
11191 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11192 @cindex overview.fmt
11193 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11194 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11195 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11196 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11197 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11198 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11201 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11202 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11203 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11207 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11210 @node Duplicate Suppression
11211 @section Duplicate Suppression
11213 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11214 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11215 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11216 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11221 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11222 is evil and not very common.
11225 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11226 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11229 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11230 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11233 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11236 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11237 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11239 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11240 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11241 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11242 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11243 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11244 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11245 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11248 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11249 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11250 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11251 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11252 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11253 saw the article in.
11256 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11257 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11258 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11260 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11261 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11262 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11263 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11264 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11265 session are suppressed.
11267 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11268 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11269 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11270 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11272 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11273 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11274 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11275 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11278 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11279 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11280 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11281 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11282 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11283 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11284 to you to figure out, I think.
11289 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11290 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11291 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11296 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11297 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
11298 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
11299 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
11300 PGG Manual}), and Mailcrypt are also supported.
11303 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11304 or newer is recommended.
11308 The variables that control security functionality on reading/composing
11312 @item mm-verify-option
11313 @vindex mm-verify-option
11314 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
11315 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
11316 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11318 @item mm-decrypt-option
11319 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
11320 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
11321 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
11322 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11324 @item mm-sign-option
11325 @vindex mm-sign-option
11326 Option of creating signed parts. @code{nil}, use default signing
11327 keys; @code{guided}, ask user to select signing keys from the menu.
11329 @item mm-encrypt-option
11330 @vindex mm-encrypt-option
11331 Option of creating encrypted parts. @code{nil}, use the first
11332 public-key matching the @samp{From:} header as the recipient;
11333 @code{guided}, ask user to select recipient keys from the menu.
11336 @vindex mml1991-use
11337 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11338 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
11339 and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported although
11340 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
11344 @vindex mml2015-use
11345 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11346 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
11347 @code{pgg}, and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported
11348 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
11349 interface in this order.
11353 By default the buttons that display security information are not
11354 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
11355 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
11356 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
11357 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
11358 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
11359 how to customize these variables to always display security
11362 @cindex snarfing keys
11363 @cindex importing PGP keys
11364 @cindex PGP key ring import
11365 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11366 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11367 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11368 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11369 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11370 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11371 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11372 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11373 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11376 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11379 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11380 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11382 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11383 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11384 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11387 @section Mailing List
11388 @cindex mailing list
11391 @kindex A M (summary)
11392 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11393 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11394 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11395 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11398 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11403 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11404 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11405 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11408 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11409 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11410 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11413 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11414 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11415 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11419 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11420 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11421 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11424 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11425 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11426 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11429 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11430 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11431 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11436 @node Article Buffer
11437 @chapter Article Buffer
11438 @cindex article buffer
11440 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11441 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11442 tell Gnus otherwise.
11445 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11446 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11447 * HTML:: Reading @acronym{HTML} messages.
11448 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11449 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11450 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11454 @node Hiding Headers
11455 @section Hiding Headers
11456 @cindex hiding headers
11457 @cindex deleting headers
11459 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11460 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11462 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11463 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11464 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11465 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11466 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11467 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11468 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11469 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11470 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11472 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11476 @item gnus-visible-headers
11477 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11478 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11479 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11480 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11482 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11483 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11486 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11489 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11492 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11493 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11494 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11495 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11496 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11497 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11499 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11500 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11503 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11506 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11509 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11510 variable will have no effect.
11514 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11515 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11516 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11517 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11518 the headers are to be displayed.
11520 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11521 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11524 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11527 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11528 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11530 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11531 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11532 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11533 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11534 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11535 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11536 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11539 These conditions are:
11542 Remove all empty headers.
11544 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11545 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11547 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11548 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11551 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11554 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11555 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11557 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11558 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11560 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11561 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11563 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11566 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11568 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11571 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11574 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11575 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11578 This is also the default value for this variable.
11582 @section Using MIME
11583 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11585 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11586 while people stand around yawning.
11588 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11589 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11591 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11592 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11593 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11595 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11596 @findex gnus-display-mime
11597 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11598 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11599 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11600 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11602 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11603 @acronym{MIME} button:
11606 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11607 @item RET (Article)
11608 @kindex RET (Article)
11609 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11610 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11611 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11612 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11613 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11614 object is displayed inline.
11616 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11617 @item M-RET (Article)
11618 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11620 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11621 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11623 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11625 @kindex t (Article)
11626 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11627 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11629 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11631 @kindex C (Article)
11632 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11633 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11635 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11637 @kindex o (Article)
11638 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11639 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11641 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11642 @item C-o (Article)
11643 @kindex C-o (Article)
11644 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11645 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11646 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11647 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11648 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11649 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11651 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11653 @kindex r (Article)
11654 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11655 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11656 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11658 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11660 @kindex d (Article)
11661 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11662 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11663 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11665 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11667 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11669 @kindex c (Article)
11670 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11671 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11672 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11673 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11674 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11675 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11676 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11677 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11679 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11681 @kindex p (Article)
11682 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11683 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11684 @file{.mailcap} file.
11686 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11688 @kindex i (Article)
11689 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11690 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
11691 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11692 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11693 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11694 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11695 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11696 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11697 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11699 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11701 @kindex E (Article)
11702 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11703 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11704 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11706 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11708 @kindex e (Article)
11709 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11710 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11712 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11714 @kindex | (Article)
11715 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11717 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11719 @kindex . (Article)
11720 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11721 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11725 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11726 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11727 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11729 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11730 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11731 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11732 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11733 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11734 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11735 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11736 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11737 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11739 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11741 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11745 @section @acronym{HTML}
11746 @cindex @acronym{HTML}
11748 If you have @code{w3m} installed on your system, Gnus can display
11749 @acronym{HTML} articles in the article buffer. There are many Gnus
11750 add-ons for doing this, using various approaches, but there's one
11751 (sort of) built-in method that's used by default.
11753 For a complete overview, consult @xref{Display Customization,
11754 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. This
11755 section only describes the default method.
11758 @item mm-text-html-renderer
11759 @vindex mm-text-html-renderer
11760 If set to @code{gnus-article-html}, Gnus will use the built-in method,
11761 that's based on @code{w3m}.
11763 @item gnus-blocked-images
11764 @vindex gnus-blocked-images
11765 External images that have @acronym{URL}s that match this regexp won't
11766 be fetched and displayed. For instance, do block all @acronym{URL}s
11767 that have the string ``ads'' in them, do the following:
11770 (setq gnus-blocked-images "ads")
11773 This can also be a function to be evaluated. If so, it will be
11774 called with the group name as the parameter. The default value is
11775 @code{gnus-block-private-groups}, which will return @samp{"."} for
11776 anything that isn't a newsgroup. This means that no external images
11777 will be fetched as a result of reading mail, so that nobody can use
11778 web bugs (and the like) to track whether you've read email.
11780 Also @pxref{Misc Article} for @code{gnus-inhibit-images}.
11782 @item gnus-html-cache-directory
11783 @vindex gnus-html-cache-directory
11784 Gnus will download and cache images according to how
11785 @code{gnus-blocked-images} is set. These images will be stored in
11788 @item gnus-html-cache-size
11789 @vindex gnus-html-cache-size
11790 When @code{gnus-html-cache-size} bytes have been used in that
11791 directory, the oldest files will be deleted. The default is 500MB.
11793 @item gnus-html-frame-width
11794 @vindex gnus-html-frame-width
11795 The width to use when rendering HTML. The default is 70.
11797 @item gnus-max-image-proportion
11798 @vindex gnus-max-image-proportion
11799 How big pictures displayed are in relation to the window they're in.
11800 A value of 0.7 (the default) means that they are allowed to take up
11801 70% of the width and height of the window. If they are larger than
11802 this, and Emacs supports it, then the images will be rescaled down to
11803 fit these criteria.
11807 To use this, make sure that you have @code{w3m} and @code{curl}
11808 installed. If you have, then Gnus should display @acronym{HTML}
11813 @node Customizing Articles
11814 @section Customizing Articles
11815 @cindex article customization
11817 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11818 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11819 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11820 called automatically when you select the articles.
11822 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11823 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11824 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11825 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11827 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11828 for sensible values.
11832 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11835 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11838 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11841 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11844 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11847 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11851 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11852 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11853 regexps in the list.
11856 A list where the first element is not a string:
11858 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11859 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11860 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11864 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11869 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11870 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11871 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11872 considered to contain just a single part.
11874 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11875 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11876 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11877 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11878 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11879 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11880 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11883 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11884 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11886 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11887 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11888 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11889 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11890 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11891 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11892 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11893 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11894 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11895 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11896 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11897 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11898 @vindex gnus-treat-date
11899 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11900 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11901 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11902 @vindex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
11903 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
11904 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11905 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11906 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11907 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11908 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11909 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11910 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11911 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11912 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11913 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11914 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11915 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11916 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11917 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11918 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11919 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11920 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11921 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11922 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11923 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11924 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11925 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11926 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11929 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11930 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11931 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11932 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11935 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11936 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11938 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11940 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11941 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11942 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11943 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11944 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11945 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11946 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11947 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11948 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11949 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11951 @xref{Article Washing}.
11953 @item gnus-treat-date (head)
11955 This will transform/add date headers according to the
11956 @code{gnus-article-date-headers} variable. This is a list of Date
11957 headers to display. The formats available are:
11961 Universal time, aka GMT, aka ZULU.
11964 The user's local time zone.
11967 A semi-readable English sentence.
11970 The time elapsed since the message was posted.
11972 @item combined-lapsed
11973 Both the original date header and a (shortened) elapsed time.
11976 The original date header.
11979 ISO8601 format, i.e., ``2010-11-23T22:05:21''.
11982 A format done according to the @code{gnus-article-time-format}
11987 @xref{Article Date}.
11989 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11990 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11991 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11995 @item gnus-treat-from-gravatar (head)
11996 @item gnus-treat-mail-gravatar (head)
12000 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
12002 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
12004 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
12005 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
12006 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
12010 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12011 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
12015 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12016 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
12020 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12021 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12022 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12023 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12024 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12025 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12026 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12027 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12028 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12029 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12030 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12031 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12032 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12033 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12034 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12035 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12036 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12037 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12038 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12039 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12041 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12043 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12044 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12045 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12046 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12047 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12048 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12050 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12052 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12053 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12054 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12055 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12056 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12058 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12059 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12060 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12061 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12062 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12063 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12064 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12065 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12067 @xref{Article Header}.
12072 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12073 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12074 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12075 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12076 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12080 @node Article Keymap
12081 @section Article Keymap
12083 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12084 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12085 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12086 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12089 @kindex v (Article)
12090 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12091 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12092 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12094 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12099 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12100 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12101 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12102 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12105 @kindex DEL (Article)
12106 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12107 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12108 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12111 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12112 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12113 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12114 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12115 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12118 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12119 @findex gnus-article-mail
12120 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12121 given a prefix, include the mail.
12124 @kindex s (Article)
12125 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12126 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12127 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12130 @kindex ? (Article)
12131 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12132 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12133 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12136 @kindex TAB (Article)
12137 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12138 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12139 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12142 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12143 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12144 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12147 @kindex R (Article)
12148 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12149 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12150 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12151 only yank the text in the region.
12154 @kindex S W (Article)
12155 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12156 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12157 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12158 active, only yank the text in the region.
12161 @kindex F (Article)
12162 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12163 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12164 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12165 only yank the text in the region.
12172 @section Misc Article
12176 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12177 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12178 @cindex article buffers, several
12179 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12180 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12183 @item gnus-widen-article-window
12184 @cindex gnus-widen-article-window
12185 If non-@code{nil}, selecting the article buffer with the @kbd{h}
12186 command will ``widen'' the article window to take the entire frame.
12188 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12189 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12190 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12191 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12192 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12194 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12195 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12196 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12197 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12198 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12199 the contents of the article buffer.
12201 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12202 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12203 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12205 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12206 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12207 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12208 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12210 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12211 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12212 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12213 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12215 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12216 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12217 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12218 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12219 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12220 with two extensions:
12225 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12226 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12227 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12232 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12235 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12238 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12239 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12240 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
12243 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12246 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12249 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12254 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12258 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12260 @item gnus-break-pages
12261 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12262 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12263 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12264 paging will not be done.
12266 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12267 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12268 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12272 @cindex internationalized domain names
12273 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12274 @item gnus-use-idna
12275 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12276 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12277 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12278 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12279 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12280 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12282 @vindex gnus-inhibit-images
12283 @item gnus-inhibit-images
12284 If this is non-@code{nil}, inhibit displaying of images inline in the
12285 article body. It is effective to images that are in articles as
12286 @acronym{MIME} parts, and images in @acronym{HTML} articles rendered
12287 when @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization,
12288 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) is
12289 @code{shr} or @code{gnus-w3m}.
12294 @node Composing Messages
12295 @chapter Composing Messages
12296 @cindex composing messages
12299 @cindex sending mail
12304 @cindex using s/mime
12305 @cindex using smime
12307 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12308 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12309 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12310 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12311 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12312 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12315 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12316 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12317 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12318 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12319 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12320 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12321 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12322 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12323 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12326 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12327 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12333 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12336 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12337 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12338 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12339 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12340 @code{nil} include all headers.
12342 @item gnus-add-to-list
12343 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
12344 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
12345 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
12347 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12348 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12349 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
12350 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
12351 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
12352 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
12353 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
12354 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
12356 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
12357 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
12359 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12360 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12361 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
12362 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
12363 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
12368 @node Posting Server
12369 @section Posting Server
12371 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
12372 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
12374 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
12376 It can be quite complicated.
12378 @vindex gnus-post-method
12379 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
12380 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
12381 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
12382 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
12383 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
12384 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
12385 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
12386 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
12387 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
12390 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
12393 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
12394 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
12395 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
12396 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
12398 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
12399 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
12401 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
12402 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
12405 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
12406 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
12408 @vindex message-send-mail-function
12409 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
12410 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
12411 value suitable for your system.
12412 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
12415 @node POP before SMTP
12416 @section POP before SMTP
12417 @cindex pop before smtp
12418 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
12419 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
12421 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
12422 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
12423 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
12424 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
12425 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12428 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
12429 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
12433 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
12434 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
12435 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
12436 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
12437 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
12438 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
12439 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
12440 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
12442 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
12443 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
12444 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
12445 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
12446 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
12447 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
12450 (setq mail-source-primary-source
12451 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12452 :password "secret"))
12456 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
12457 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
12460 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12462 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12463 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12464 :password "secret")))
12465 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12468 @node Mail and Post
12469 @section Mail and Post
12471 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12475 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12476 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12477 @cindex mailing lists
12479 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12480 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12481 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12482 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12483 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12484 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12485 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12486 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12487 still a pain, though.
12489 @item gnus-user-agent
12490 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12493 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12494 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12495 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12496 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12497 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12498 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12499 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12503 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12504 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12505 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12508 @findex ispell-message
12510 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12513 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12514 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12517 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12521 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12522 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12524 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12527 Modify to suit your needs.
12529 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12530 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12531 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12534 @node Archived Messages
12535 @section Archived Messages
12536 @cindex archived messages
12537 @cindex sent messages
12539 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12540 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12541 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12542 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12545 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12546 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12549 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12550 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12551 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
12552 actually being used it is expanded into:
12555 (nnfolder "archive"
12556 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12557 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12558 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12559 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12563 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
12564 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
12565 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
12566 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
12567 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
12568 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
12569 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12570 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
12571 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
12572 saved method to reflect always the value of
12573 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
12574 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
12575 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
12578 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12579 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12580 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12581 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12584 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12585 '(nnfolder "archive"
12586 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12587 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12588 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12591 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12593 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12594 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12595 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12597 This variable can be used to do the following:
12601 Messages will be saved in that group.
12603 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12604 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12605 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12606 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12607 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12608 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12609 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12610 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12613 @item a list of strings
12614 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12616 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12617 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12620 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
12625 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12627 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12630 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12632 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12635 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12637 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12638 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12639 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12640 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12643 More complex stuff:
12645 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12646 '((if (message-news-p)
12651 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12652 messages in one file per month:
12655 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12656 '((if (message-news-p)
12658 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12661 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12662 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12663 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12664 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12665 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12666 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12667 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12668 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12669 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12670 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12673 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12674 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12675 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12677 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12678 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12679 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12680 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12681 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12682 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12683 changed in the future.
12688 @node Posting Styles
12689 @section Posting Styles
12690 @cindex posting styles
12693 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12695 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12696 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12697 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12700 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12701 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12702 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12703 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12704 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12709 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12710 (organization "What me?"))
12712 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12713 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12714 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12717 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12718 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12719 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12720 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12721 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12722 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12723 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12724 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12726 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12727 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12728 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12729 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12730 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12731 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12732 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12733 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12734 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12735 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12736 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12737 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12738 said to @dfn{match}.
12740 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12741 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12742 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12743 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12744 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12745 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12746 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12747 name can be one of:
12750 @item @code{signature}
12751 @item @code{signature-file}
12752 @item @code{x-face-file}
12753 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12754 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12758 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12759 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12761 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12762 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12763 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12764 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12765 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12767 The attribute value can be a string, a function with zero arguments
12768 (the return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used)
12769 or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be
12770 used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12771 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current
12772 article are available through the @code{message-reply-headers}
12773 variable, which is a vector of the following headers: number subject
12774 from date id references chars lines xref extra.
12776 In the case of a string value, if the @code{match} is a regular
12777 expression, a @samp{gnus-match-substitute-replacement} is proceed on
12778 the value to replace the positional parameters @samp{\@var{n}} by the
12779 corresponding parenthetical matches (see @xref{Replacing the Text that
12780 Matched, , Text Replacement, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.)
12782 @vindex message-reply-headers
12784 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12785 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12786 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12788 @findex message-mail-p
12789 @findex message-news-p
12791 So here's a new example:
12794 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12796 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12798 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12799 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12800 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12802 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12803 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12804 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12805 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12806 (signature my-news-signature))
12807 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12808 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12809 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12810 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12811 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12812 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12813 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12814 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12815 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12816 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12818 (From (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
12819 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12821 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12824 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12825 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12826 if you fill many roles.
12827 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12828 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12834 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12835 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12836 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12837 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12838 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12840 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12841 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12842 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12843 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12844 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12848 @vindex nndraft-directory
12849 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12850 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12851 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12852 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12853 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12854 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12856 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12857 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12858 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12859 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12860 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12861 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12862 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12863 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12864 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12866 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12867 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12868 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12869 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12870 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12871 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12872 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12873 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12874 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12875 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12876 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12877 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12878 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12879 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12881 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12882 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12883 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12885 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12886 @kindex D e (Draft)
12887 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12888 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12889 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12891 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12894 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12895 @kindex D s (Draft)
12896 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12897 @kindex D S (Draft)
12898 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12899 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12900 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12901 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12902 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12905 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12906 @kindex D t (Draft)
12907 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12908 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12909 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12911 Finally, if you want to delete a draft, use the normal @kbd{B DEL}
12912 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12915 @node Rejected Articles
12916 @section Rejected Articles
12917 @cindex rejected articles
12919 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12920 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12921 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12922 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12924 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12925 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12926 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12927 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12928 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12930 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12931 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12932 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12934 @node Signing and encrypting
12935 @section Signing and encrypting
12937 @cindex using s/mime
12938 @cindex using smime
12940 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12941 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12942 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12943 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12945 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12946 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12947 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12948 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12949 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12950 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12951 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12952 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12953 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12954 automatically encrypted messages.
12956 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12957 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12958 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12963 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12964 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12966 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12969 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12970 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12972 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12975 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12976 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12978 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12981 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12982 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12984 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12987 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12988 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12990 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12993 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12994 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12996 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12999 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
13000 @findex mml-unsecure-message
13001 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
13005 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
13007 @node Select Methods
13008 @chapter Select Methods
13009 @cindex foreign groups
13010 @cindex select methods
13012 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
13013 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
13014 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
13015 personal mail group.
13017 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
13018 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
13019 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
13020 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
13021 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13022 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13024 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13025 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13027 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13030 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13031 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13032 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13033 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13034 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13036 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13039 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13040 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13041 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
13042 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13043 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13044 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
13045 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13046 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13047 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13051 @node Server Buffer
13052 @section Server Buffer
13054 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13055 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13056 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13057 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13058 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13059 back end represents a virtual server.
13061 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13062 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13063 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13064 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13066 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13067 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13068 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13069 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13070 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13071 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13072 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13074 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13075 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13078 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13079 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13080 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13081 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13082 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13083 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13084 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13087 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13088 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13091 @node Server Buffer Format
13092 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13093 @cindex server buffer format
13095 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13096 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13097 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13098 variable, with some simple extensions:
13103 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13106 The name of this server.
13109 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13112 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13115 Whether this server is agentized.
13118 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13119 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13120 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13121 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13131 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13134 @node Server Commands
13135 @subsection Server Commands
13136 @cindex server commands
13142 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13143 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13144 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13148 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13149 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13153 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13154 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13158 @findex gnus-server-show-server
13159 Show the definition of a server (@code{gnus-server-show-server}).
13162 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13163 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13164 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13168 @findex gnus-server-exit
13169 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13173 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13174 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13178 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13179 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13183 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13184 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13188 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13189 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13193 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13194 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13195 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13200 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13201 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13202 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13203 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13207 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13209 Compact all groups in the server under point
13210 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13211 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13212 hence getting a correct total article count.
13216 Some more commands for closing, disabling, and re-opening servers are
13217 listed in @ref{Unavailable Servers}.
13220 @node Example Methods
13221 @subsection Example Methods
13223 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13226 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13229 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13235 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13236 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13239 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13240 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13242 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13243 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13247 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13250 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13251 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13253 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13254 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13255 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13259 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13262 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13265 Here's the method for a public spool:
13269 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13270 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13276 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13277 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13278 on the firewall machine and connect with
13279 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13280 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13281 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13282 should probably look something like this:
13286 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13287 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13288 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13291 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13292 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13293 configuration to the example above:
13296 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13299 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13300 an indirect connection:
13303 (setq gnus-select-method
13305 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13306 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13307 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13308 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13309 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13310 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13313 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13314 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13316 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13317 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13318 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13322 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13323 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13324 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13328 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13329 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13331 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13332 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
13334 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
13335 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
13336 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
13338 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
13340 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
13341 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
13342 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
13343 will contain the following:
13353 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
13354 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
13357 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
13358 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
13359 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
13362 @node Server Variables
13363 @subsection Server Variables
13364 @cindex server variables
13365 @cindex server parameters
13367 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
13368 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
13369 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
13370 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
13371 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
13373 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
13374 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
13375 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
13376 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
13377 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
13378 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
13379 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
13380 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
13381 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
13385 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
13386 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
13387 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
13390 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
13392 @node Servers and Methods
13393 @subsection Servers and Methods
13395 Wherever you would normally use a select method
13396 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
13397 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
13398 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
13402 @node Unavailable Servers
13403 @subsection Unavailable Servers
13405 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
13406 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
13407 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
13408 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
13409 actually the case or not.
13411 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
13412 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
13413 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
13414 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
13415 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
13416 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
13417 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
13418 it will regard that server as ``down''.
13420 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
13421 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
13423 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
13424 with the following commands:
13430 @findex gnus-server-open-server
13431 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
13432 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
13436 @findex gnus-server-close-server
13437 Close the connection (if any) to the server
13438 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
13442 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
13443 Mark the current server as unreachable
13444 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
13447 @kindex M-o (Server)
13448 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
13449 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
13450 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
13453 @kindex M-c (Server)
13454 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
13455 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
13456 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
13460 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
13461 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
13462 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
13466 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13467 Copy a server and give it a new name
13468 (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}). This can be useful if you have a
13469 complex method definition, and want to use the same definition towards
13470 a different (physical) server.
13474 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
13475 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13481 @section Getting News
13482 @cindex reading news
13483 @cindex news back ends
13485 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13486 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13487 or it can read from a local spool.
13490 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13491 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13499 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13500 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13501 server as the, uhm, address.
13503 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13504 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13505 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13506 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13508 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13509 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13510 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13512 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13517 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13518 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13519 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13521 @cindex authentication
13522 @cindex nntp authentication
13523 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13524 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13525 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13526 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13527 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13528 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13529 present in this hook.
13531 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13532 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13533 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13534 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13535 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13536 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13537 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13538 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13539 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13540 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13541 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13542 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13546 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13549 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13551 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13552 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13553 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13554 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13555 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13556 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13557 @samp{force} is explained below.
13561 Here's an example file:
13564 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13565 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13568 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13569 have to be first, for instance.
13571 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13572 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13573 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13574 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13575 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13576 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13577 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13579 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13580 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13586 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13587 previously mentioned.
13589 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13591 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13592 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13593 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13594 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13595 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13598 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13599 '(("innd" (ding))))
13602 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13604 The default value is
13607 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13608 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13609 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13612 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13613 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13615 @item nntp-maximum-request
13616 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13617 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13618 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13619 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13620 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13621 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13622 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13624 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13625 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13626 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13627 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13628 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13629 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13630 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13631 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13632 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13633 no timeouts are done.
13635 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13636 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13637 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13638 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13641 @item nntp-xover-commands
13642 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13643 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13645 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13646 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13650 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13651 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13652 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13653 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13654 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13655 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13656 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13657 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13658 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13659 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13660 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13662 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13663 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13664 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
13665 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
13666 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
13667 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
13668 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
13669 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
13670 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
13671 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
13672 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
13673 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
13674 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
13675 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
13676 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
13677 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
13678 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
13681 (setq gnus-select-method
13683 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
13684 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
13688 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
13690 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13691 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13692 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13694 @item nntp-record-commands
13695 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13696 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13697 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13698 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13699 that doesn't seem to work.
13701 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13702 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13703 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13704 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13705 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13706 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13707 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13708 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13710 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13711 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13712 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13713 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13714 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13715 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13716 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13717 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13718 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13720 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13721 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13722 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13723 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13724 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13725 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13726 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13728 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13729 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13730 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13731 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13732 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13733 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13734 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13737 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13740 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13741 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13743 @item nntp-server-list-active-group
13744 If @code{nil}, then always use @samp{GROUP} instead of @samp{LIST
13745 ACTIVE}. This is usually slower, but on misconfigured servers that
13746 don't update their active files often, this can help.
13752 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13753 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13754 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13755 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13759 @node Direct Functions
13760 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13761 @cindex direct connection functions
13763 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13764 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13765 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13766 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13769 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13770 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13771 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13772 remote system. If both Emacs and the server supports it, the
13773 connection will be upgraded to an encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS}
13774 connection automatically.
13777 The same as the above, but don't do automatic @acronym{STARTTLS} upgrades.
13779 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13780 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13781 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13782 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
13783 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13786 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13787 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13789 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13790 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13791 (nntp-port-number 563)
13792 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13795 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13796 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13797 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13798 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13799 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13800 then define a server as follows:
13803 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13804 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13806 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13807 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13808 (nntp-port-number 563)
13809 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13812 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
13813 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
13814 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
13815 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
13816 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13817 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13818 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13819 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13823 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13824 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13825 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13828 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13829 session, which is not a good idea.
13831 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13832 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13833 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
13834 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
13835 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
13836 not available. The previous example would turn into:
13840 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13841 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13842 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
13843 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
13848 @node Indirect Functions
13849 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13850 @cindex indirect connection functions
13852 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13853 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13854 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13855 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13856 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13857 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13860 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13861 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13862 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
13863 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13864 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13866 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13869 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13870 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13871 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13872 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13874 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13875 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13876 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13877 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13878 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13879 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
13882 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13883 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13884 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
13885 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13886 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
13887 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
13889 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13892 @item nntp-telnet-command
13893 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13894 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13895 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
13897 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13898 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13899 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13900 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
13902 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13903 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13904 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13905 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13907 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13908 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13909 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13910 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
13911 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13912 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13913 host. The default is @code{nil}.
13916 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13917 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13919 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13920 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13921 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13922 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13924 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13927 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13928 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13929 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13932 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13933 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13934 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13935 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13937 @item nntp-via-user-password
13938 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13939 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13941 @item nntp-via-envuser
13942 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13943 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13944 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13945 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13947 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13948 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13949 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13950 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13954 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13955 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13959 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13964 @item nntp-via-user-name
13965 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13966 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13968 @item nntp-via-address
13969 @vindex nntp-via-address
13970 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13975 @node Common Variables
13976 @subsubsection Common Variables
13978 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13979 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13980 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13981 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13982 variables individually).
13986 @item nntp-pre-command
13987 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13988 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13989 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13990 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13991 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13994 @vindex nntp-address
13995 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13997 @item nntp-port-number
13998 @vindex nntp-port-number
13999 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14000 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
14001 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
14002 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
14003 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
14004 not work with named ports.
14006 @item nntp-end-of-line
14007 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
14008 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
14009 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
14010 using a non native telnet connection function.
14012 @item nntp-netcat-command
14013 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
14014 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
14015 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
14016 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14019 @item nntp-netcat-switches
14020 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
14021 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14027 @subsubsection NNTP marks
14028 @cindex storing NNTP marks
14030 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
14031 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
14032 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
14033 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
14034 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
14035 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
14036 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
14037 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
14039 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
14040 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
14041 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
14042 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
14043 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14045 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
14046 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
14047 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
14048 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
14049 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
14050 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
14051 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
14053 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
14054 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
14055 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14061 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
14062 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
14063 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
14064 default is @code{nil}.
14066 @item nntp-marks-directory
14067 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
14068 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
14074 @subsection News Spool
14078 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14079 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14080 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14083 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14084 anything else) as the address.
14086 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14087 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14088 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14089 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14093 @item nnspool-inews-program
14094 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14095 Program used to post an article.
14097 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14098 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14099 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14101 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14102 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14103 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14104 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14106 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14107 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14108 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14109 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14111 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14112 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14113 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14115 @item nnspool-active-file
14116 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14117 The name of the active file.
14119 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14120 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14121 The name of the group descriptions file.
14123 @item nnspool-history-file
14124 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14125 The name of the news history file.
14127 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14128 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14129 The name of the active date file.
14131 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14132 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14133 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14136 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14137 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14139 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14140 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14141 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14148 @section Using IMAP
14151 The most popular mail backend is probably @code{nnimap}, which
14152 provides access to @acronym{IMAP} servers. @acronym{IMAP} servers
14153 store mail remotely, so the client doesn't store anything locally.
14154 This means that it's a convenient choice when you're reading your mail
14155 from different locations, or with different user agents.
14158 * Connecting to an IMAP Server:: Getting started with @acronym{IMAP}.
14159 * Customizing the IMAP Connection:: Variables for @acronym{IMAP} connection.
14160 * Client-Side IMAP Splitting:: Put mail in the correct mail box.
14164 @node Connecting to an IMAP Server
14165 @subsection Connecting to an IMAP Server
14167 Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} can be very easy. Type @kbd{B} in the
14168 group buffer, or (if your primary interest is reading email), say
14172 (setq gnus-select-method
14173 '(nnimap "imap.gmail.com"))
14176 You'll be prompted for a user name and password. If you grow tired of
14177 that, then add the following to your @file{~/.authinfo} file:
14180 machine imap.gmail.com login <username> password <password> port imap
14183 That should basically be it for most users.
14186 @node Customizing the IMAP Connection
14187 @subsection Customizing the IMAP Connection
14189 Here's an example method that's more complex:
14192 (nnimap "imap.gmail.com"
14193 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14194 (nnimap-split-methods default)
14196 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14200 @item nnimap-address
14201 The address of the server, like @samp{imap.gmail.com}.
14203 @item nnimap-server-port
14204 If the server uses a non-standard port, that can be specified here. A
14205 typical port would be @code{"imap"} or @code{"imaps"}.
14207 @item nnimap-stream
14208 How @code{nnimap} should connect to the server. Possible values are:
14212 This is the default, and this first tries the @code{ssl} setting, and
14213 then tries the @code{network} setting.
14216 This uses standard @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14219 Non-encrypted and unsafe straight socket connection, but will upgrade
14220 to encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} if both Emacs and the server
14224 Encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} over the normal @acronym{IMAP} port.
14227 If you need to tunnel via other systems to connect to the server, you
14228 can use this option, and customize @code{nnimap-shell-program} to be
14233 @item nnimap-authenticator
14234 Some @acronym{IMAP} servers allow anonymous logins. In that case,
14235 this should be set to @code{anonymous}.
14237 @item nnimap-expunge
14238 If non-@code{nil}, expunge articles after deleting them. This is always done
14239 if the server supports UID EXPUNGE, but it's not done by default on
14240 servers that doesn't support that command.
14242 @item nnimap-streaming
14243 Virtually all @code{IMAP} server support fast streaming of data. If
14244 you have problems connecting to the server, try setting this to @code{nil}.
14246 @item nnimap-fetch-partial-articles
14247 If non-@code{nil}, fetch partial articles from the server. If set to
14248 a string, then it's interpreted as a regexp, and parts that have
14249 matching types will be fetched. For instance, @samp{"text/"} will
14250 fetch all textual parts, while leaving the rest on the server.
14255 @node Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14256 @subsection Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14258 Many people prefer to do the sorting/splitting of mail into their mail
14259 boxes on the @acronym{IMAP} server. That way they don't have to
14260 download the mail they're not all that interested in.
14262 If you do want to do client-side mail splitting, then the following
14263 variables are relevant:
14267 This is the @acronym{IMAP} mail box that will be scanned for new mail.
14269 @item nnimap-split-methods
14270 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-methods} (@pxref{Splitting
14271 Mail}), except the symbol @code{default}, which means that it should
14272 use the value of the @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable.
14274 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14275 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14277 @item nnimap-unsplittable-articles
14278 List of flag symbols to ignore when doing splitting. That is,
14279 articles that have these flags won't be considered when splitting.
14280 The default is @samp{(%Deleted %Seen)}.
14284 Here's a complete example @code{nnimap} backend with a client-side
14285 ``fancy'' splitting method:
14288 (nnimap "imap.example.com"
14289 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14290 (nnimap-split-methods
14291 (| ("MailScanner-SpamCheck" "spam" "spam.detected")
14292 (to "foo@@bar.com" "foo")
14298 @section Getting Mail
14299 @cindex reading mail
14302 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
14306 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14307 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14308 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14309 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14310 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14311 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14312 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14313 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14314 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14315 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14316 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14317 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14318 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14322 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14323 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14325 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14326 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14327 of a culture shock.
14329 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14330 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14332 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14333 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14334 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14335 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14337 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14339 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14340 deleted? How awful!
14342 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14343 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14344 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14345 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14348 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14349 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14350 they want to treat a message.
14352 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14353 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14354 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14355 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14356 archived somewhere else.
14358 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14359 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14360 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14361 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14362 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
14364 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
14365 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
14366 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
14368 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
14369 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
14372 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
14373 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
14374 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
14375 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
14376 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
14378 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
14379 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
14380 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
14381 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
14382 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
14383 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
14387 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
14388 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
14390 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
14391 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
14392 and things will happen automatically.
14394 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
14395 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14398 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14401 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
14402 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
14403 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
14404 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
14405 like any other group.
14407 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
14410 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14411 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14412 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14416 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
14417 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
14418 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
14421 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
14422 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
14423 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
14426 @node Splitting Mail
14427 @subsection Splitting Mail
14428 @cindex splitting mail
14429 @cindex mail splitting
14430 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
14432 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
14433 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
14434 to be split into groups.
14437 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14438 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14439 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14440 ("mail.other" "")))
14443 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
14444 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
14445 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
14446 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
14447 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
14448 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
14449 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
14452 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
14456 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
14457 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14459 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14460 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
14461 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
14462 mail belongs in that group.
14464 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
14465 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
14466 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
14467 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
14468 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
14469 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
14470 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
14471 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
14472 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
14473 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
14475 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
14476 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
14477 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
14478 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
14479 thinks should carry this mail message.
14481 This variable can also be a fancy split method. For the syntax,
14482 see @ref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14484 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
14485 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
14486 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
14487 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
14489 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
14490 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
14491 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
14492 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
14493 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
14495 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
14498 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
14499 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
14500 links. If that's the case for you, set
14501 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
14502 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
14504 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
14505 @findex nnmail-split-history
14506 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
14507 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
14508 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
14509 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
14512 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
14513 Header lines longer than the value of
14514 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
14517 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
14518 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
14519 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
14520 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
14521 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
14522 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
14523 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
14524 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
14525 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
14526 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
14527 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
14528 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
14530 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14531 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
14532 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
14533 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
14534 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
14535 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
14536 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
14537 other kinds of entries.)
14539 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
14540 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
14541 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
14542 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
14543 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
14544 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
14545 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
14546 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
14547 month's rent money.
14551 @subsection Mail Sources
14553 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
14554 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
14555 maildir, for instance.
14558 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
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 (eg,
14719 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @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.
14768 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14769 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14772 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14773 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14774 mail should be moved to.
14776 @item :authentication
14777 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14778 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14783 @vindex pop3-movemail
14784 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14785 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14786 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14787 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14788 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14789 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14790 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14791 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14792 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14794 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14795 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14796 name, and default fetcher:
14802 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14805 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14806 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14809 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14812 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14816 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14817 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14818 contains exactly one mail.
14824 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14825 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14828 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14829 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14831 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14832 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14833 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14836 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14837 from locking problems).
14841 Two example maildir mail sources:
14844 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14845 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14849 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14854 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14855 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14856 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14857 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14858 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{Using IMAP}, for more information.
14864 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14865 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14868 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14869 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14872 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14876 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14880 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14881 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14882 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14883 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14885 @item :authentication
14886 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14887 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14888 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14889 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14892 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14893 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14894 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14900 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
14901 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
14902 specifier characters are:
14906 The name of the server.
14909 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14912 The port number of the server.
14915 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14916 corresponding keywords.
14919 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14920 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
14923 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14924 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14925 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14926 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14927 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14928 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14931 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14932 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14933 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14934 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14937 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14938 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14942 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14945 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14947 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14951 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
14952 @xref{Group Parameters}.
14957 @item Common Keywords
14958 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14964 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14965 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14970 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14975 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14976 useful when you use local mail and news.
14981 @subsubsection Function Interface
14983 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14984 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14985 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14986 consider the following mail-source setting:
14989 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14990 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14993 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14994 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14995 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14996 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14997 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14999 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
15002 @node Mail Source Customization
15003 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
15005 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
15006 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
15010 @item mail-source-crash-box
15011 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
15012 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
15013 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
15016 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
15017 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
15018 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
15019 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
15020 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
15021 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15022 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15023 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15024 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15025 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15027 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15028 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15029 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15030 files. This variable only applies when
15031 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15033 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15034 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15035 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15037 @item mail-source-directory
15038 @vindex mail-source-directory
15039 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15040 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15041 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15042 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15044 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15045 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15046 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15047 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15048 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15049 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15052 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15053 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15054 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
15056 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15057 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15058 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15059 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15064 @node Fetching Mail
15065 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15067 @vindex mail-sources
15068 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15069 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15070 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15072 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15073 fetch mail by themselves.
15075 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15076 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15081 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15082 :password "secret")))
15085 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15089 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15090 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15093 :password "secret")))
15097 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15098 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15099 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15100 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15101 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15102 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15106 @node Mail Back End Variables
15107 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15109 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15113 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15114 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15115 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15116 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15118 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15119 @item nnmail-split-hook
15120 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15121 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15122 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15123 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15124 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15125 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15126 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15127 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15128 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15131 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15132 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15133 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15134 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15135 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15136 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15137 starting to handle the new mail) and
15138 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15139 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15140 default file modes the new mail files get:
15143 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15144 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
15146 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15147 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
15150 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15151 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15152 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15153 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15154 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15155 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15156 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15158 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15159 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15160 @findex delete-file
15161 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15163 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15164 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15165 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15166 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15167 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15169 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15170 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15171 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15172 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15173 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15175 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15176 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15177 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15182 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15183 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15184 @cindex mail splitting
15185 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15187 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15188 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15189 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15190 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15191 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15192 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15194 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15197 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15198 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15199 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15200 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15202 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15203 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15204 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15205 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15206 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15207 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15208 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15209 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15210 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15211 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15212 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15213 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15214 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15215 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15216 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15217 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15218 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15222 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15223 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15224 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15229 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15230 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15232 @c Don't fold this line.
15233 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15234 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15235 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15236 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15239 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15240 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15241 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15242 @var{split} is processed.
15244 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15245 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15246 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15247 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15249 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15250 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15251 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15252 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15253 stored in one or more groups.
15255 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15256 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15257 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15260 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15261 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15263 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15264 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15265 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15266 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15269 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15270 body of the messages:
15273 (defun split-on-body ()
15277 (goto-char (point-min))
15278 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15282 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15283 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15284 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15285 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15286 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15287 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15288 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
15290 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15291 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15292 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15293 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15294 should return a split.
15297 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15301 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15303 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15304 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15305 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15306 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15310 (any "joe" "joemail")
15314 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15315 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15316 of the following three ways:
15320 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15321 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15322 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15323 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15324 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15327 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15330 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15331 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15332 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15333 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15334 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15337 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15338 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15339 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15340 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15341 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15342 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15343 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15346 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15347 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15348 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15349 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15350 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15351 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15352 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
15356 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
15358 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
15359 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
15361 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
15364 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
15365 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
15366 when all this splitting is performed.
15368 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
15369 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
15370 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
15373 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
15376 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
15377 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
15379 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
15380 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
15381 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
15382 groupings 1 through 9.
15384 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
15385 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
15386 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
15387 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
15388 groups when users send to an address using different case
15389 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
15392 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
15393 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
15394 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
15395 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
15396 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
15397 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
15398 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
15399 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
15400 it once per thread.
15402 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
15403 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
15404 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
15405 using the colon feature, like so:
15407 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
15408 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
15410 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
15411 ;; @r{other splits go here}
15415 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
15416 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
15417 in the file specified by the variable
15418 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
15419 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
15420 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
15421 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
15422 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
15423 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
15424 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
15425 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
15426 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
15427 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
15428 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
15429 300 kBytes in size.)
15430 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15431 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
15432 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
15433 messages goes into the new group.
15435 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
15436 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
15437 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
15438 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
15439 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
15440 ``outgoing'' group.
15443 @node Group Mail Splitting
15444 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
15445 @cindex mail splitting
15446 @cindex group mail splitting
15448 @findex gnus-group-split
15449 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
15450 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
15451 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
15452 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
15453 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
15454 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
15455 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
15456 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
15458 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
15459 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
15460 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
15461 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
15463 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
15464 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
15465 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
15466 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
15467 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
15468 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
15469 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
15471 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
15472 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
15473 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
15474 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
15475 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
15476 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
15477 @code{gnus-group-split}.
15479 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
15480 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
15481 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
15482 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
15483 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
15484 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
15485 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
15486 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
15487 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
15488 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
15489 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
15490 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
15491 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
15493 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
15498 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
15499 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
15501 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
15502 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
15503 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
15504 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
15506 ((split-spec . catch-all))
15509 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
15510 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
15511 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
15514 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
15515 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
15516 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
15520 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
15521 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
15522 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15526 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
15529 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
15530 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
15531 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
15532 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
15533 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
15534 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
15535 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
15536 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
15537 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
15539 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
15540 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
15541 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
15542 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
15543 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
15544 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
15545 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
15546 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
15547 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
15549 @findex gnus-group-split-update
15550 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
15551 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
15552 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
15553 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
15554 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
15557 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
15560 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
15561 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
15562 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
15563 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
15564 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
15567 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
15568 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
15569 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
15570 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
15572 @node Incorporating Old Mail
15573 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
15574 @cindex incorporating old mail
15575 @cindex import old mail
15577 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
15578 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
15579 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
15582 Doing so can be quite easy.
15584 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
15585 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
15586 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
15587 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
15588 your @code{nnml} groups.
15594 Go to the group buffer.
15597 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
15598 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15601 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
15604 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
15605 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15608 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
15609 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
15612 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
15613 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
15614 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
15615 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
15616 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
15618 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
15619 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
15620 using the new mail back end.
15623 @node Expiring Mail
15624 @subsection Expiring Mail
15625 @cindex article expiry
15626 @cindex expiring mail
15628 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
15629 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
15630 different approach to mail reading.
15632 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
15633 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
15634 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
15635 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
15636 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
15637 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
15640 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
15641 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
15642 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
15643 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
15644 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
15645 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
15646 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
15647 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
15648 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
15650 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
15651 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
15652 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
15653 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
15654 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
15655 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
15656 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
15659 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
15660 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
15661 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
15662 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
15663 into its own group.)
15665 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
15666 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
15667 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
15668 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15669 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15670 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15671 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15672 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15675 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15676 Groups that match the regular expression
15677 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15678 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15679 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15681 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15682 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15683 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15684 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15685 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15687 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15689 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15690 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15691 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15694 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15695 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15696 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15697 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15698 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15700 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15701 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15704 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15705 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15708 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15709 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15711 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15712 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15713 don't really mix very well.
15715 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15716 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15717 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15718 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15721 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15722 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15723 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15724 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15727 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15729 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15731 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15733 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15735 ((string= group "important")
15741 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15742 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15744 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15745 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15746 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15749 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15750 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15752 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15753 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15754 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15755 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15756 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15757 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15758 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15759 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15760 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15761 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15762 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15763 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15764 name or @code{delete}.
15766 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15768 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15771 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15772 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15773 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15774 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15775 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15778 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15779 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15780 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15781 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15782 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15785 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15786 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15787 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15788 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15789 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15790 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15792 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15793 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15794 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15795 easier for procmail users.
15797 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15798 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15799 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15800 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15801 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15802 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15803 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15804 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15805 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15806 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15807 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15808 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15809 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15812 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15814 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15815 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15816 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15817 auto-expire turned on.
15819 @vindex gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable
15820 The expirable marks of articles will be removed when copying or moving
15821 them to a group in which auto-expire is not turned on. This is for
15822 preventing articles from being expired unintentionally. On the other
15823 hand, to a group that has turned auto-expire on, the expirable marks of
15824 articles that are copied or moved will not be changed by default. I.e.,
15825 when copying or moving to such a group, articles that were expirable
15826 will be left expirable and ones that were not expirable will not be
15827 marked as expirable. So, even though in auto-expire groups, some
15828 articles will never get expired (unless you read them again). If you
15829 don't side with that behavior that unexpirable articles may be mixed
15830 into auto-expire groups, you can set
15831 @code{gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable} to a
15832 non-@code{nil} value. In that case, articles that have been read will
15833 be marked as expirable automatically when being copied or moved to a
15834 group that has auto-expire turned on. The default value is @code{nil}.
15838 @subsection Washing Mail
15839 @cindex mail washing
15840 @cindex list server brain damage
15841 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15843 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15844 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15845 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15846 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15847 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15848 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15850 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15851 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15852 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15855 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15856 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15857 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15858 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15861 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15862 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15863 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15864 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15865 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15868 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15869 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15870 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15871 Emacs running on MS machines.
15875 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15876 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15877 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15878 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15881 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15882 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15883 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15884 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15886 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15887 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15888 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15889 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15890 into a feature by documenting it.)
15892 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15893 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15894 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15895 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15896 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15897 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15898 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15901 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15902 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15905 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15906 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15909 This can also be done non-destructively with
15910 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15912 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15913 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15914 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15916 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15917 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15918 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15921 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15922 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15923 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15924 contain a line matching the regular expression
15925 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15929 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15930 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15931 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15935 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15936 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15937 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15944 @subsection Duplicates
15946 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15947 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15948 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15949 @cindex duplicate mails
15950 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15951 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15952 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15953 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15954 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15955 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15956 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15957 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15958 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15959 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15960 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15961 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15962 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15964 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15965 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15966 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15967 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15969 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15972 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15973 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15977 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15978 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15979 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15980 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15981 (any mail "mail.misc")
15982 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15988 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15989 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15990 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15994 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15995 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15996 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15997 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15998 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
16001 @node Not Reading Mail
16002 @subsection Not Reading Mail
16004 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
16005 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
16006 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
16008 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
16009 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
16010 mail, which should help.
16012 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16013 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16014 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16015 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16016 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16017 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
16018 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
16019 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
16020 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
16021 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16022 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16024 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16025 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16029 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16030 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16032 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16033 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16034 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16036 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16037 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16038 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16042 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16043 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16044 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16045 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16046 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16047 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16048 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16053 @node Unix Mail Box
16054 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16056 @cindex unix mail box
16058 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16059 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16060 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16061 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16062 which group it belongs in.
16064 Virtual server settings:
16067 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16068 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16069 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16072 @item nnmbox-active-file
16073 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16074 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16075 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16077 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16078 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16079 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16080 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16085 @subsubsection Babyl
16088 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16089 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16090 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16091 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16092 group it belongs in.
16094 Virtual server settings:
16097 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16098 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16099 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16101 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16102 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16103 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16104 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16106 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16107 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16108 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16114 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16116 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16118 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16119 format. It should be used with some caution.
16121 @vindex nnml-directory
16122 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16123 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16124 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16125 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16127 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16130 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16131 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16132 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16133 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16134 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16135 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16136 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16137 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16139 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16140 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16141 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16142 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16144 @cindex self contained nnml servers
16146 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
16147 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16148 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16149 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
16150 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
16151 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
16152 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
16153 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
16156 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
16157 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
16158 them next time it starts.
16160 Virtual server settings:
16163 @item nnml-directory
16164 @vindex nnml-directory
16165 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16166 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16169 @item nnml-active-file
16170 @vindex nnml-active-file
16171 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16172 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16174 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16175 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16176 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16177 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16179 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16180 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16181 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16184 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16185 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16186 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16187 default is @code{nil}.
16189 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16190 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16191 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16193 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16194 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16195 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16197 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
16198 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
16199 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16200 default is @code{nil}.
16202 @item nnml-marks-file-name
16203 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
16204 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
16206 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16207 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16208 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16209 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16210 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16211 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16212 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16213 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16214 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16216 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16217 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16218 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16219 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16220 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16224 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16225 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16226 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16227 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16228 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16229 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16230 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16235 @subsubsection MH Spool
16237 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16239 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16240 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16241 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16242 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16245 Virtual server settings:
16248 @item nnmh-directory
16249 @vindex nnmh-directory
16250 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16251 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16254 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16255 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16256 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16260 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16261 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16262 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16263 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16264 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16265 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16266 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16271 @subsubsection Maildir
16275 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16276 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16277 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16278 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16279 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16282 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16283 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16284 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16285 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16286 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16287 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16288 that appear as group in Gnus.
16290 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16291 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16292 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16294 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16295 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16296 another, and you will keep your marks.
16298 Virtual server settings:
16302 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16303 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16304 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16305 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16306 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16307 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16308 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16309 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16310 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16311 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16313 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16314 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16315 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16316 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16317 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16318 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16319 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16320 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16321 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16322 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16325 @item target-prefix
16326 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16327 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16328 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16331 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16332 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16333 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16334 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16335 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16336 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16337 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16338 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16339 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16341 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16342 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16343 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16344 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16345 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16347 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16348 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16349 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16350 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16351 @code{force} argument.
16353 @item directory-files
16354 This should be a function with the same interface as
16355 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
16356 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
16357 parameter is optional; the default is
16358 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
16359 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
16360 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
16361 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
16362 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
16363 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
16366 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
16367 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
16368 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
16369 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
16370 value is @code{nil}.
16372 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
16373 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
16374 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
16375 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
16376 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
16379 @subsubsection Group parameters
16381 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
16382 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
16383 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
16384 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
16385 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
16386 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
16389 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
16390 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
16391 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
16392 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
16393 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
16394 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
16395 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
16396 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
16397 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
16401 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
16402 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
16403 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
16404 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
16405 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
16406 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
16407 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
16408 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
16409 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
16410 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
16411 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
16412 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
16413 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
16416 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
16418 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
16420 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
16421 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
16422 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
16423 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
16424 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
16425 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
16426 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
16427 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
16428 article. So that form can refer to
16429 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
16430 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
16431 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
16432 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
16435 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
16436 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
16437 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
16438 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
16439 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
16440 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
16441 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
16442 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
16443 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
16444 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
16445 contain extra copies of the articles.
16447 @item directory-files
16448 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
16449 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
16450 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
16451 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
16453 @item distrust-Lines:
16454 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
16455 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
16456 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
16459 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
16460 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16461 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
16462 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
16463 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
16464 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16467 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
16468 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16469 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
16470 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
16471 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
16472 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
16473 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16475 @item nov-cache-size
16476 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
16477 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
16478 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
16479 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
16480 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
16481 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
16482 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
16483 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
16484 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
16485 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
16486 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
16489 @subsubsection Article identification
16490 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
16491 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
16492 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
16493 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
16494 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
16495 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
16496 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
16497 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
16498 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
16499 request the article in the summary buffer.
16501 @subsubsection NOV data
16502 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
16503 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
16504 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
16505 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
16506 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
16507 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
16508 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
16509 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
16510 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
16511 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
16512 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
16514 @subsubsection Article marks
16515 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
16516 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
16517 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16518 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
16519 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16520 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
16521 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
16522 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
16524 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
16525 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
16526 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
16527 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
16528 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
16529 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
16530 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
16531 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
16532 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
16536 @subsubsection Mail Folders
16538 @cindex mbox folders
16539 @cindex mail folders
16541 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
16542 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
16543 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
16544 numbers and arrival dates.
16546 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
16548 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
16549 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16550 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16551 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
16552 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
16553 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
16554 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
16555 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
16556 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
16557 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
16559 Virtual server settings:
16562 @item nnfolder-directory
16563 @vindex nnfolder-directory
16564 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
16565 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
16566 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
16568 @item nnfolder-active-file
16569 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
16570 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
16572 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16573 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16574 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16575 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
16577 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
16578 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16579 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
16580 default is @code{t}
16582 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16583 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16584 @cindex backup files
16585 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
16586 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
16587 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
16588 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
16591 (defun turn-off-backup ()
16592 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
16594 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
16597 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16598 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16599 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
16600 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
16601 extract some information from it before removing it.
16603 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16604 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16605 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16606 default is @code{nil}.
16608 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16609 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16610 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
16612 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
16613 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
16614 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
16615 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16617 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16618 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16619 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16620 default is @code{nil}.
16622 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16623 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16624 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
16626 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
16627 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
16628 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
16629 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16634 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
16635 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
16636 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
16637 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
16638 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
16639 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
16642 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
16643 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
16645 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
16646 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
16647 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
16648 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
16649 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
16651 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
16652 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
16653 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
16654 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
16655 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
16656 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
16657 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
16658 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
16661 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
16662 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
16663 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
16664 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
16669 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
16670 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
16671 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
16672 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
16673 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
16674 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
16675 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
16676 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
16677 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
16678 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
16679 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
16680 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
16681 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16686 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16687 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16688 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16689 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16690 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16691 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16692 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16693 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16694 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16695 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16696 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16697 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16698 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16699 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
16700 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
16702 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16703 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16708 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16709 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16710 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16711 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16712 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16713 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16714 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16715 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16716 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16717 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16718 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16719 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16720 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16721 provided by the active file and overviews.
16723 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16724 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16725 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16726 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16727 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16730 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16731 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16736 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16737 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16738 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16739 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16740 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16741 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16742 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16746 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16747 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16748 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16749 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16750 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16751 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16752 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16753 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16754 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16756 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16757 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16758 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16759 friendly mail back end all over.
16763 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16764 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16767 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16768 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16769 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16770 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16771 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}.
16772 (Use @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this
16773 slows you down or takes up very much space, a non-block-structured
16776 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16777 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16778 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16779 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16780 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16781 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16782 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16783 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16784 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16785 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16786 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16788 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16789 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16790 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16791 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16792 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16795 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16796 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16797 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16798 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16799 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16800 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16801 removed in the future.
16803 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16804 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16805 on your file system.
16807 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16808 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16813 @node Browsing the Web
16814 @section Browsing the Web
16816 @cindex browsing the web
16820 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16821 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16822 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16823 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16824 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16825 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16826 even know what a news group is.
16828 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16829 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16830 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16831 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16832 you mad in the end.
16834 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16837 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16838 interfaces to these sources.
16842 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16843 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16844 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16847 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16848 alternatives to work.
16850 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16851 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16852 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16853 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16854 though, you should be ok.
16856 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16857 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16858 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16859 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16860 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16862 @node Archiving Mail
16863 @subsection Archiving Mail
16864 @cindex archiving mail
16865 @cindex backup of mail
16867 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16868 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16869 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16870 marks is fairly simple.
16872 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16873 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16876 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16877 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16878 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16879 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16880 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16881 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16882 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16883 before you restore the data.
16885 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16886 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16887 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16888 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16889 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16890 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16891 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16892 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16893 is unnecessary in that case.
16896 @subsection Web Searches
16901 @cindex Usenet searches
16902 @cindex searching the Usenet
16904 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16905 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16906 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16907 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16908 searches without having to use a browser.
16910 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16911 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16912 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16913 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16914 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16916 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16917 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16918 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16919 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16920 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16921 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16922 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16923 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16924 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16925 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16928 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16929 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16930 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16931 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16932 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16933 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16935 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16936 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16937 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16939 Virtual server variables:
16944 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16945 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16946 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16949 @vindex nnweb-search
16950 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16952 @item nnweb-max-hits
16953 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16954 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16957 @item nnweb-type-definition
16958 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16959 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16960 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16965 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16969 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16972 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16975 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16979 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16990 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16991 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16992 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16993 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16994 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16996 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16997 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16999 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
17000 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
17001 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
17004 @kindex G R (Group)
17005 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
17006 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
17007 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
17008 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
17010 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
17011 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
17012 subscribe to groups.
17014 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
17015 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
17016 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
17017 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
17018 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
17021 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17022 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17023 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17026 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17027 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17030 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17031 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17035 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17036 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17037 @acronym{OPML} format.
17040 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17043 @item nnrss-directory
17044 @vindex nnrss-directory
17045 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17046 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17048 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17049 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17050 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17051 data files. The default is the value of
17052 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17053 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17055 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17056 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17057 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17058 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17059 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17060 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17061 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17062 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17064 @item nnrss-use-local
17065 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17066 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17067 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17068 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17069 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17070 download script using @command{wget}.
17073 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17074 the summary buffer.
17077 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17078 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17080 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17082 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17083 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17086 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17090 (require 'browse-url)
17092 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17094 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17097 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17098 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17101 (browse-url (cdr url))
17102 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17103 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17105 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17106 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17107 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17108 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17111 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17112 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17113 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17114 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17115 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17116 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17117 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17118 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17119 @code{nnrss} groups:
17122 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17123 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17125 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17126 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17127 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17129 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17132 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17136 @node Customizing W3
17137 @subsection Customizing W3
17143 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
17144 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
17145 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
17148 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
17149 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
17150 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
17153 (eval-after-load "w3"
17155 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
17156 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
17157 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
17158 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
17160 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
17163 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
17164 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
17168 @node Other Sources
17169 @section Other Sources
17171 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17172 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17176 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17177 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17178 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17179 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17180 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
17184 @node Directory Groups
17185 @subsection Directory Groups
17187 @cindex directory groups
17189 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17190 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17193 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17194 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17195 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17196 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17198 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17199 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17200 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17201 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17202 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17204 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17206 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17207 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17208 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17209 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17212 @node Anything Groups
17213 @subsection Anything Groups
17216 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17217 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17218 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17221 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17222 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17223 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17224 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17225 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17226 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17227 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17228 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17229 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17230 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17233 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17234 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17235 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17236 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17238 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17239 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17240 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17241 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17243 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17244 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17245 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17246 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17247 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17248 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17249 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17250 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17255 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17256 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17257 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17258 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17260 @item nneething-exclude-files
17261 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17262 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17263 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17265 @item nneething-include-files
17266 @vindex nneething-include-files
17267 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17268 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17270 @item nneething-map-file
17271 @vindex nneething-map-file
17272 Name of the map files.
17276 @node Document Groups
17277 @subsection Document Groups
17279 @cindex documentation group
17282 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17283 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17293 The standard Unix mbox file.
17295 @cindex MMDF mail box
17297 The MMDF mail box format.
17300 Several news articles appended into a file.
17302 @cindex rnews batch files
17304 The rnews batch transport format.
17307 Netscape mail boxes.
17310 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17312 @item standard-digest
17313 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17316 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17318 @item lanl-gov-announce
17319 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17321 @cindex git commit messages
17323 @code{git} commit messages.
17325 @cindex forwarded messages
17326 @item rfc822-forward
17327 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17330 The Outlook mail box.
17333 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17336 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17339 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17342 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17348 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17351 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17357 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17358 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17359 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17362 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17363 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17364 group. And that's it.
17366 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17367 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17368 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17369 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17370 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17371 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17372 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17373 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17374 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17375 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17377 Virtual server variables:
17380 @item nndoc-article-type
17381 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17382 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17383 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17384 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17385 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17386 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17388 @item nndoc-post-type
17389 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17390 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17391 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17396 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17400 @node Document Server Internals
17401 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17403 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17404 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17405 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17406 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17408 First, here's an example document type definition:
17412 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17413 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17416 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17417 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17418 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17419 types can be defined with very few settings:
17422 @item first-article
17423 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17424 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17427 @item article-begin
17428 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17429 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17430 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17431 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17433 @item article-begin-function
17434 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17435 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17438 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17439 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17440 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17442 @item head-begin-function
17443 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17444 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17447 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17448 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17451 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17452 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17453 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17455 @item body-begin-function
17456 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17457 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17460 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17461 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17462 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17464 @item body-end-function
17465 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17466 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17469 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17470 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17473 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17474 regexp will be totally ignored.
17478 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17479 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17480 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17481 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17482 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17485 @item prepare-body-function
17486 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17487 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17488 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17490 @item article-transform-function
17491 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17492 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17493 body of the article.
17495 @item generate-head-function
17496 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17497 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17498 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17499 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17501 @item generate-article-function
17502 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17503 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17504 parameter when requesting all articles.
17506 @item dissection-function
17507 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17508 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17509 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17510 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17511 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17512 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17516 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17521 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17522 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17523 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17524 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17525 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17526 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17527 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17528 (subtype digest guess))
17531 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17532 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17533 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17534 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17535 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17537 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17538 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17539 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17540 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17541 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17542 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17543 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17544 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17545 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17546 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17547 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17548 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17551 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17552 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17553 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17556 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17557 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17558 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17560 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17566 @item nngateway-address
17567 @vindex nngateway-address
17568 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17570 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17571 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17572 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17573 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17574 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17575 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17576 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17579 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17580 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17581 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17584 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17587 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17590 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17593 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17595 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17598 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17599 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17600 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17602 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17604 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17605 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17606 @code{nngateway-address}.
17614 (setq gnus-post-method
17616 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17617 (nngateway-header-transformation
17618 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17621 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17624 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17628 @node The Empty Backend
17629 @subsection The Empty Backend
17632 @code{nnnil} is a backend that can be used as a placeholder if you
17633 have to specify a backend somewhere, but don't really want to. The
17634 classical example is if you don't want to have a primary select
17635 methods, but want to only use secondary ones:
17638 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnnil ""))
17639 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
17645 @node Combined Groups
17646 @section Combined Groups
17648 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17652 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17656 @node Virtual Groups
17657 @subsection Virtual Groups
17659 @cindex virtual groups
17660 @cindex merging groups
17662 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17665 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17666 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17667 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17669 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17670 regexp to match component groups.
17672 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17673 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17674 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17675 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17676 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17677 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17678 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17679 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17681 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17682 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17685 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17688 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17689 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17691 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17692 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17693 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17694 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17697 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17700 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17701 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17702 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17704 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17705 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17706 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17707 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17708 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17710 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17711 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17712 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17714 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17715 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
17716 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
17717 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
17718 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
17719 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
17720 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
17721 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
17722 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
17723 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
17724 it---it'll have much the same effect.
17726 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17727 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17728 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17729 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17730 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17731 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17732 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17734 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17735 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17737 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17738 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17742 @node Email Based Diary
17743 @section Email Based Diary
17745 @cindex email based diary
17748 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
17749 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
17750 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
17751 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
17752 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
17753 namely, as event reminders.
17755 Here is a typical scenario:
17759 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
17760 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
17762 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
17764 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
17766 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
17767 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
17768 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
17770 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
17771 of the night you're gonna have.
17773 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
17774 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
17777 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
17778 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
17779 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
17780 explained in the sections below.
17783 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
17784 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
17785 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
17789 @node The NNDiary Back End
17790 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
17792 @cindex the nndiary back end
17794 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
17795 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
17796 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
17797 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
17798 directory per group.
17800 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
17801 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
17802 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
17803 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
17806 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
17807 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
17808 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
17811 @node Diary Messages
17812 @subsubsection Diary Messages
17813 @cindex nndiary messages
17814 @cindex nndiary mails
17816 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
17817 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
17818 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
17819 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
17820 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
17821 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
17822 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
17826 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
17827 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
17828 (separated by a comma).
17830 A field is either an integer, or a range.
17832 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
17834 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
17835 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
17836 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
17838 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
17839 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
17840 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
17842 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
17843 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
17844 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
17845 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
17846 list of available time zone values, see the variable
17847 @code{nndiary-headers}.
17850 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
17851 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
17852 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
17857 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
17860 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
17862 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
17865 @node Running NNDiary
17866 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
17867 @cindex running nndiary
17868 @cindex nndiary operation modes
17870 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
17871 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
17872 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
17873 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
17874 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
17875 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
17877 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
17878 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
17879 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
17880 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
17881 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
17882 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
17883 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
17886 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
17891 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
17892 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17895 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
17898 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
17899 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
17900 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
17901 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
17902 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
17904 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
17905 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
17914 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
17915 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
17917 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
17918 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17919 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
17920 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
17923 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
17924 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17925 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
17928 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
17929 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
17930 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
17932 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
17933 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
17934 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
17935 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
17936 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
17938 @node Customizing NNDiary
17939 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
17940 @cindex customizing nndiary
17941 @cindex nndiary customization
17943 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
17944 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
17945 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
17946 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
17948 @defvar nndiary-reminders
17949 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
17950 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
17951 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
17952 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
17956 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
17957 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
17962 @node The Gnus Diary Library
17963 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
17965 @cindex the gnus diary library
17967 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
17968 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
17969 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
17970 useful things for you.
17972 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17975 (require 'gnus-diary)
17978 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
17979 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
17980 (sorry if you used them before).
17984 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
17985 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
17986 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
17987 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
17990 @node Diary Summary Line Format
17991 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
17992 @cindex diary summary buffer line
17993 @cindex diary summary line format
17995 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
17996 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
17997 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
17998 see the event's date.
18000 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18001 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18002 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18003 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18004 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18006 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18007 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18008 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18011 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18014 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18015 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18018 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18021 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18022 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18023 with the following user options:
18025 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18026 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18027 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18028 diary groups'parameters.
18031 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18032 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18033 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18036 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18037 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18038 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18039 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18040 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18043 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18044 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18045 @cindex diary articles sorting
18046 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18047 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18048 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18049 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18051 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18052 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18053 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18054 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18055 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18057 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18058 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18059 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18060 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18063 @node Diary Headers Generation
18064 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18065 @cindex diary headers generation
18066 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18068 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18069 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18070 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18071 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18074 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18075 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18076 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
18077 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
18078 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
18080 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18081 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18082 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18085 @node Diary Group Parameters
18086 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18087 @cindex diary group parameters
18089 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18090 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18091 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18092 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18093 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18094 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18095 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18096 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18098 @node Sending or Not Sending
18099 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18101 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18102 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18106 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18107 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18108 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18109 sending the diary message to them as well.
18111 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18112 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18113 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18114 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18117 @node Gnus Unplugged
18118 @section Gnus Unplugged
18123 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18125 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18126 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18127 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18128 read news. Believe it or not.
18130 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18131 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18132 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18133 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18134 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18136 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18137 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18138 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18139 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18140 reading news on a machine.
18142 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18143 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18144 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18146 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18149 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18150 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18151 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18152 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18153 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18154 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18155 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18156 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18157 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18158 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18159 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18160 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18161 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18162 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18167 @subsection Agent Basics
18169 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18171 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18172 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18173 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18174 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18176 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18177 connected to the net continuously.
18179 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18180 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18182 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18183 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18184 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18185 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18186 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18188 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18189 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18190 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18191 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18192 they're kinda like plugged always).
18194 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18195 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18196 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18199 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18200 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18201 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18202 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18203 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18205 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18210 @findex gnus-unplugged
18211 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18212 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18213 already fetched while in this mode.
18216 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18217 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18218 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18219 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18220 Source Specifiers}).
18223 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18224 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18225 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18226 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18227 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18230 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18231 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18232 then you read the news offline.
18235 And then you go to step 2.
18238 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18244 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18245 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18246 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18247 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18248 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18249 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18250 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18251 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18254 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18255 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18256 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18257 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18259 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18260 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18261 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18262 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18263 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18264 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18268 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18272 @node Agent Categories
18273 @subsection Agent Categories
18275 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18276 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18277 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18278 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18279 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18280 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18281 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18283 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18284 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18285 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18286 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18287 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18289 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18290 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18291 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18292 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18293 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18296 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18297 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18298 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18299 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18300 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18301 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18305 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18306 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18307 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18311 @node Category Syntax
18312 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18314 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18315 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18316 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18319 @cindex Agent Parameters
18322 The list of groups that are in this category.
18324 @item agent-predicate
18325 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18326 are eligible for downloading; and
18329 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18330 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18331 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18333 @item agent-enable-expiration
18334 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18335 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18336 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18337 only groups that should not be expired.
18339 @item agent-days-until-old
18340 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18341 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18343 @item agent-low-score
18344 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18346 @item agent-high-score
18347 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18349 @item agent-short-article
18350 an integer that overrides the value of
18351 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18353 @item agent-long-article
18354 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18356 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18357 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18358 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18359 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18360 undownloaded faces.
18363 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18366 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18367 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18368 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18371 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18372 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18373 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18374 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18376 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18377 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18378 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18380 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18381 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18382 operators sprinkled in between.
18384 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18386 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18387 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18393 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18394 short (for some value of ``short'').
18396 Here's a more complex predicate:
18405 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18406 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18409 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18410 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18411 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18413 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18414 you want to do, you can write your own.
18416 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18417 bound to the value determined by calling
18418 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18419 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18420 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18421 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18422 predicate to individual groups.
18426 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18427 lines; default 100.
18430 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18431 lines; default 200.
18434 True if the article has a download score less than
18435 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18438 True if the article has a download score greater than
18439 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18442 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18443 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18444 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18453 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18454 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18455 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18458 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18459 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18460 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18461 something along the lines of the following:
18464 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18465 "Say whether an article is old."
18466 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18467 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18470 with the predicate then defined as:
18473 (not my-article-old-p)
18476 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18477 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18481 (require 'gnus-agent)
18482 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18483 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18484 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18487 and simply specify your predicate as:
18493 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18494 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18495 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18496 just don't give a damn.
18498 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18499 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18500 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18501 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18502 parameters like so:
18505 (agent-predicate . short)
18508 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18509 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18510 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18512 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18515 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18518 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18519 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18520 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18523 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18524 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18525 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18526 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18527 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18528 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18530 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18531 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18532 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18533 if it's to be specific to that group.
18535 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18542 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18543 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18549 Category specification
18553 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18559 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18562 (agent-score ("from"
18563 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18568 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18574 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18575 keywords stated above.
18581 Category specification
18584 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18590 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18594 Group Parameter specification
18597 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18600 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18605 Use @code{normal} score files
18607 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18608 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18609 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18610 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18612 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18613 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18614 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18615 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18619 Category Specification
18626 Group Parameter specification
18629 (agent-score . file)
18634 @node Category Buffer
18635 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18637 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18638 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18639 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18641 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18645 @kindex q (Category)
18646 @findex gnus-category-exit
18647 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18650 @kindex e (Category)
18651 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18652 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18653 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18656 @kindex k (Category)
18657 @findex gnus-category-kill
18658 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18661 @kindex c (Category)
18662 @findex gnus-category-copy
18663 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18666 @kindex a (Category)
18667 @findex gnus-category-add
18668 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18671 @kindex p (Category)
18672 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18673 Edit the predicate of the current category
18674 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18677 @kindex g (Category)
18678 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18679 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18680 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18683 @kindex s (Category)
18684 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18685 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18686 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18689 @kindex l (Category)
18690 @findex gnus-category-list
18691 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18695 @node Category Variables
18696 @subsubsection Category Variables
18699 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18700 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18701 Hook run in category buffers.
18703 @item gnus-category-line-format
18704 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18705 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18706 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18710 The name of the category.
18713 The number of groups in the category.
18716 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18717 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18718 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18720 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18721 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18722 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18724 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18725 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18726 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18728 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18729 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18730 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18733 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18734 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18735 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18738 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18739 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18740 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18741 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18742 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18743 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18744 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18745 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18749 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18750 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18751 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18752 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18753 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18754 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18755 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18760 @node Agent Commands
18761 @subsection Agent Commands
18762 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18763 @kindex J j (Agent)
18765 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18766 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18767 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18771 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18772 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18773 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18779 @node Group Agent Commands
18780 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18784 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18785 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18786 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18787 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18790 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18791 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18792 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18795 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18796 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18797 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18798 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18801 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18802 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18803 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18804 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18807 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18808 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18809 Add the current group to an Agent category
18810 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18811 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18814 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18815 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18816 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18817 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18818 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18821 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18822 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18823 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18829 @node Summary Agent Commands
18830 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18834 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18835 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18836 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18839 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18840 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18841 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18842 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18846 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18847 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18848 Toggle whether to download the article
18849 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18853 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18854 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18855 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18858 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18859 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18860 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18861 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18864 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18865 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
18866 Download all processable articles in this group.
18867 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
18870 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18871 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18872 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18873 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18878 @node Server Agent Commands
18879 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18883 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18884 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18885 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18886 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18889 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18890 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18891 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18892 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18897 @node Agent Visuals
18898 @subsection Agent Visuals
18900 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18901 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18902 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18903 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18904 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18905 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18906 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18907 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18908 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18909 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18911 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18912 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18913 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18914 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18915 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
18916 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18917 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18918 articles will be available when unplugged.
18920 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18921 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18922 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18923 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18924 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18925 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18926 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18927 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18929 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18930 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18931 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18932 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18933 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18934 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18935 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18936 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18937 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18939 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18940 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18941 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18942 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18943 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18944 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18945 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18946 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18947 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18948 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18950 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18951 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18952 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
18953 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
18954 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
18955 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18957 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
18958 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
18959 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
18960 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
18961 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
18962 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
18963 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
18964 expiring'' articles.
18966 @node Agent as Cache
18967 @subsection Agent as Cache
18969 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18970 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18971 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18972 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18973 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18974 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18975 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18976 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18977 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18979 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18980 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18981 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18982 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18983 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18986 @subsection Agent Expiry
18988 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18989 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18990 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18991 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18992 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18993 @cindex agent expiry
18994 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18995 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
18997 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18998 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18999 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19000 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19001 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19002 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19003 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19004 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19006 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19007 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19008 synchronized with the group.
19010 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19011 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19013 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19014 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19015 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19016 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19017 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19018 be kept indefinitely.
19020 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19021 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19022 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19023 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19025 @node Agent Regeneration
19026 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19028 @cindex agent regeneration
19029 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19030 @cindex regeneration
19032 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19033 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19034 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19035 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19036 internal inconsistencies.
19038 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19039 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19040 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19041 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19042 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19043 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19045 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19046 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19047 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19048 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19049 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19050 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19052 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19053 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19054 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19055 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19056 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19057 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19060 @node Agent and flags
19061 @subsection Agent and flags
19063 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19064 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19065 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19066 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19067 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19068 to the flags in its own files.
19070 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19071 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19072 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19074 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19075 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19076 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19077 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19078 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19079 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19081 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19082 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19083 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19084 in the group buffer.
19086 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19087 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19088 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19089 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19090 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19091 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19092 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19093 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19095 @node Agent and IMAP
19096 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19098 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19099 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19100 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19101 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19103 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19104 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19109 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19112 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19116 @node Outgoing Messages
19117 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19119 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19120 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19121 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19123 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19124 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19125 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19127 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19128 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19129 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19130 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19133 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19134 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19135 ask you to confirm your action (see
19136 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19138 @node Agent Variables
19139 @subsection Agent Variables
19144 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19145 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19146 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19147 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19149 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19150 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19153 @item gnus-agent-directory
19154 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19155 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19156 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19158 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19159 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19160 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19161 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19162 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19165 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19166 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19167 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19169 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19170 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19171 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19173 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19174 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19175 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19177 @item gnus-agent-cache
19178 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19179 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19180 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19181 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19183 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19184 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19185 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19186 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19187 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19188 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19189 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19192 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19193 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19194 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19195 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19196 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19197 read. The default is @code{t}.
19199 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19200 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19201 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19202 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19203 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19204 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19205 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19207 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19208 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19209 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19210 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19211 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19212 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19213 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19214 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19215 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19216 over and over again.
19218 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19219 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19220 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19221 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19222 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19223 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19224 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19225 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19226 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19227 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19228 However, all articles parsed prior to losing the connection will be
19229 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19232 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19233 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19234 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19235 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19236 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19237 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19238 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19239 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19240 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19242 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19243 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19244 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19245 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19246 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19247 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19249 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19250 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19251 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19252 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19253 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19255 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19256 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19257 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19258 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19259 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19260 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19262 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19263 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19264 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19265 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19266 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19268 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19269 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19270 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19271 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19272 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19273 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19274 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19275 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19276 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19277 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19278 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19283 @node Example Setup
19284 @subsection Example Setup
19286 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19287 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19288 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19291 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19292 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19293 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19295 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19296 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19297 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19299 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19300 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19302 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19303 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19304 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19307 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19308 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19311 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19312 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19313 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19314 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19315 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19318 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19319 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19320 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19321 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19322 back all the killed groups.)
19324 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19325 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19326 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19329 @node Batching Agents
19330 @subsection Batching Agents
19331 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19333 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19334 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19335 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19337 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19338 following incantation:
19342 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19346 @node Agent Caveats
19347 @subsection Agent Caveats
19349 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19350 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19354 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19356 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19357 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19358 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19360 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19361 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19363 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19367 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19368 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19369 locally stored articles.
19376 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19377 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19378 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19381 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19382 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19383 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19384 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19385 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19387 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19388 before generating the summary buffer.
19390 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19391 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19392 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19394 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19395 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19396 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19397 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19400 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19401 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19402 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19403 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19404 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19405 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19406 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19407 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19408 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19409 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19410 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19411 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19412 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19413 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19414 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19415 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19419 @node Summary Score Commands
19420 @section Summary Score Commands
19421 @cindex score commands
19423 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19424 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19425 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19426 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19427 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19429 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19430 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19431 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19432 score file the current one.
19434 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19439 @kindex V s (Summary)
19440 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19441 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19444 @kindex V S (Summary)
19445 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19446 Display the score of the current article
19447 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19450 @kindex V t (Summary)
19451 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19452 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19453 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19454 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19455 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19456 score file and edit it.
19459 @kindex V w (Summary)
19460 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19461 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19464 @kindex V R (Summary)
19465 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19466 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19467 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19468 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19469 effect you're having.
19472 @kindex V c (Summary)
19473 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19474 Make a different score file the current
19475 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19478 @kindex V e (Summary)
19479 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19480 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19481 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19485 @kindex V f (Summary)
19486 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19487 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19488 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19491 @kindex V F (Summary)
19492 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19493 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19494 after editing score files.
19497 @kindex V C (Summary)
19498 @findex gnus-score-customize
19499 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19500 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19504 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19509 @kindex V m (Summary)
19510 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19511 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19512 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19515 @kindex V x (Summary)
19516 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19517 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19518 expunge all articles below this score
19519 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19522 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19523 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19526 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19527 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19531 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19532 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19534 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19535 keys are available:
19539 Score on the author name.
19542 Score on the subject line.
19545 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19548 Score on the @code{References} line.
19554 Score on the number of lines.
19557 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19560 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19561 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19564 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19565 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19566 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19575 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19581 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19582 what headers you are scoring on.
19594 Substring matching.
19597 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19626 Greater than number.
19631 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19632 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19633 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19638 Temporary score entry.
19641 Permanent score entry.
19644 Immediately scoring.
19648 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19649 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19650 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19654 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19655 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19656 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19657 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19659 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19660 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19661 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19662 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19663 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19665 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19666 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19667 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19668 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19669 current score file.
19671 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19672 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19673 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19676 @node Group Score Commands
19677 @section Group Score Commands
19678 @cindex group score commands
19680 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19685 @kindex W e (Group)
19686 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19687 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19688 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19691 @kindex W f (Group)
19692 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19693 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19694 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19695 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19699 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19701 @findex gnus-batch-score
19702 @cindex batch scoring
19704 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19708 @node Score Variables
19709 @section Score Variables
19710 @cindex score variables
19714 @item gnus-use-scoring
19715 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19716 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19717 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19719 @item gnus-kill-killed
19720 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19721 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19722 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19723 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19724 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19725 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19726 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19728 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19729 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19730 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19731 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19732 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19734 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19735 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19736 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19737 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19739 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19740 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19741 @cindex score cache
19742 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19743 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
19744 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19745 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19746 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19747 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19748 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19751 @item gnus-save-score
19752 @vindex gnus-save-score
19753 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19754 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19755 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19757 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19758 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19759 across group visits.
19761 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19762 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19763 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19764 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19765 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19766 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19767 manually entered data.
19769 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19770 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19771 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19773 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19774 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19775 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19776 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19777 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19778 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19780 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19781 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19782 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19783 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19785 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19786 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19787 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19788 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19790 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19791 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19792 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19793 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19795 Predefined functions available are:
19798 @item gnus-score-find-single
19799 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19800 Only apply the group's own score file.
19802 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19803 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19804 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19805 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19806 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19807 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19808 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19809 then a regexp match is done.
19811 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19812 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19814 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19815 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19816 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19817 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19819 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19820 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19821 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19822 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19823 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19827 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19828 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19829 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19830 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19831 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19832 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19833 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19836 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19837 overall score file, you could use the value
19839 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19840 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19843 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19844 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19845 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19846 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19847 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19849 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19850 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19851 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19852 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19853 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19854 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19855 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19856 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19858 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19859 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19860 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19862 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19863 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19864 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19865 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19866 threading---according to the current value of
19867 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19868 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19869 simplified in this manner.
19874 @node Score File Format
19875 @section Score File Format
19876 @cindex score file format
19878 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19879 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19880 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19882 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19886 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19888 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19890 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19892 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19897 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19901 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19902 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19903 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19904 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19908 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19909 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19911 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19912 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19913 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19915 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19920 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19921 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19922 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19923 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19924 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19925 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19926 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19927 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19928 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19929 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19930 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19931 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19932 to articles that matches these score entries.
19934 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19935 score entry has one to four elements.
19939 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19940 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19944 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19945 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19946 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19947 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19948 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19949 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19952 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19953 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19954 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19955 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19956 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19959 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19960 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19961 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19962 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19965 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19966 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19967 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19968 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19969 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19970 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19971 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19972 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19973 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19974 instead, if you feel like.
19977 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19978 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19979 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19980 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19981 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19982 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19986 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19987 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19991 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19992 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19994 These predicates are true if
19997 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20000 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20001 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20008 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20009 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20010 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20011 it's not. I think.)
20013 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20014 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20015 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20016 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20019 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20020 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20021 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20022 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20023 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20024 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20025 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20029 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20030 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20031 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20032 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20033 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20034 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20035 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20036 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20039 @item Head, Body, All
20040 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20044 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20045 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20046 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20047 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20048 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20049 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20050 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20054 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20055 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20056 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20057 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20058 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20059 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20060 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20061 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20062 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20063 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20064 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20068 @cindex score file atoms
20070 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20071 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20074 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20075 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20077 @item mark-and-expunge
20078 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20079 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20082 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20083 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20084 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20085 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20086 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20089 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20090 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20093 @item exclude-files
20094 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20095 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20099 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}ed. This element will be
20100 ignored when handling global score files.
20103 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20104 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20105 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20106 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20109 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20110 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20111 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20112 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20114 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20118 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20121 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20122 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20123 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{c y}) the
20124 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20125 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20127 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20128 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20129 scoring rules exist.
20132 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20133 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20134 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20135 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20136 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20137 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20138 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20139 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20140 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20141 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20142 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20146 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20147 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20148 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20149 file for a number of groups.
20152 @cindex local variables
20153 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20154 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20155 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20156 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20157 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20162 @node Score File Editing
20163 @section Score File Editing
20165 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20166 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20167 with a mode for that.
20169 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20170 additional commands:
20175 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20176 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
20177 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20178 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
20181 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20182 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20183 Insert the current date in numerical format
20184 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20185 you were wondering.
20188 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20189 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20190 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20191 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20192 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20197 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20199 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20200 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20202 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20203 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20206 @node Adaptive Scoring
20207 @section Adaptive Scoring
20208 @cindex adaptive scoring
20210 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20211 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20212 stupidity, to be precise.
20214 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20215 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20216 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20217 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20218 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20219 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20220 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20221 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20222 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20224 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20225 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20226 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20227 might look something like this:
20230 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20231 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20232 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20233 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20234 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20235 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20236 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20237 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20238 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20239 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20240 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20241 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20244 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20245 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20246 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20247 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20248 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20249 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20252 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20253 will be applied to each article.
20255 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20256 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20257 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20258 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20260 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20261 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20262 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20263 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20265 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20266 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20267 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20268 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20270 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20271 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20272 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20273 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20274 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20275 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20277 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20278 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20279 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20281 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20282 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20283 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20285 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20286 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20287 let you use different rules in different groups.
20289 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20290 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20291 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20294 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20295 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20296 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20297 default) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20299 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20300 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20301 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20302 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20303 the length of the match is less than
20304 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20305 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20308 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20309 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20310 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20311 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20312 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20315 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20316 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20317 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20318 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20319 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20322 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20323 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20324 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20325 score with 30 points.
20327 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20328 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20329 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20330 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20331 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20333 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20334 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20335 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20336 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20337 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20339 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20340 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20341 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20342 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20344 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20345 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20346 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20347 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20349 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20350 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20351 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20352 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20353 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20355 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20356 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20357 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20359 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20360 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20361 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20362 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20365 @node Home Score File
20366 @section Home Score File
20368 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20369 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20370 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20371 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20373 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20374 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20375 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20377 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20378 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20383 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20387 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20388 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20392 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20396 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20397 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20400 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20401 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20402 name of the group as the parameter.
20405 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20408 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20413 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20416 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20417 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20420 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20421 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20423 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20425 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20426 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20429 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20430 Other functions include
20433 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20434 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20435 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20436 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20440 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20441 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20442 their own home score files:
20445 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20446 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20447 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20448 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20449 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20452 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20453 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20454 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20455 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20456 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20458 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20459 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20460 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20461 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20462 precedence over this variable.
20465 @node Followups To Yourself
20466 @section Followups To Yourself
20468 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20469 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20470 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20471 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20472 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20473 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20477 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20478 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20479 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20482 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20483 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20484 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20488 @vindex message-sent-hook
20489 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20490 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20492 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20496 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20497 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20501 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20502 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20505 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20506 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20511 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20515 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20516 is system-dependent.
20519 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20520 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20521 @cindex scoring on other headers
20523 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
20524 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
20525 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
20526 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
20527 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20529 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
20530 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
20531 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
20532 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
20533 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
20534 inhibited for all groups.
20536 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
20537 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20538 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20539 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20540 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20542 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20545 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20546 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20549 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20550 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20551 time if you have much mail.
20553 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20554 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20560 @section Scoring Tips
20561 @cindex scoring tips
20567 @cindex scoring crossposts
20568 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20569 the @code{Xref} header.
20571 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20574 @item Multiple crossposts
20575 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20576 more than, say, 3 groups:
20579 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20583 @item Matching on the body
20584 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20585 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20586 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20587 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20588 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20589 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20590 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20593 @item Marking as read
20594 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20595 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20596 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20600 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20602 @item Negated character classes
20603 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20604 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20605 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20609 @node Reverse Scoring
20610 @section Reverse Scoring
20611 @cindex reverse scoring
20613 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20614 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20615 like this in your score file:
20619 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20624 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20625 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20628 @node Global Score Files
20629 @section Global Score Files
20630 @cindex global score files
20632 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20633 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20634 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20636 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20637 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20638 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20640 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20641 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20642 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20643 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20644 files are applicable to which group.
20646 To use the score file
20647 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20648 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20652 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20653 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20654 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20657 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20659 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20660 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20661 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20662 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20664 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20665 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20667 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20668 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20669 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20670 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20671 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20672 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20674 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20680 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20682 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20684 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20686 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20687 lowered out of existence.
20689 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20690 articles completely.
20693 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20694 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20695 old articles for a long time.
20698 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20699 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20700 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20701 holding our breath yet?
20705 @section Kill Files
20708 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20709 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20710 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20712 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20713 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20714 files into score files.
20716 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20717 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20718 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20719 that isn't a very good idea.
20721 Normal kill files look like this:
20724 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20725 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20729 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20730 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20732 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20733 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20736 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20741 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20742 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20743 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20746 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20747 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20748 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20751 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20756 @kindex M-k (Group)
20757 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20758 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20761 @kindex M-K (Group)
20762 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20763 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20766 Kill file variables:
20769 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20770 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20771 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20772 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20773 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20774 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20775 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20777 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20778 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20779 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20780 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20783 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20784 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20785 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20786 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20787 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20788 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20789 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20790 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20791 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20793 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20794 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20795 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20800 @node Converting Kill Files
20801 @section Converting Kill Files
20803 @cindex converting kill files
20805 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20806 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20807 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20810 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
20811 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
20813 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20815 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20816 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20817 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20821 @node Advanced Scoring
20822 @section Advanced Scoring
20824 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20825 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20826 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20827 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20828 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20830 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20834 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20835 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20836 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20840 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20841 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20843 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20844 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20845 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20846 non-@code{nil} value.
20848 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20849 operator, and various match operators.
20856 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20857 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20858 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20863 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20864 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20865 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20870 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20871 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20875 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20876 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20877 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20878 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20879 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20880 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20881 the ancestry you want to go.
20883 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20884 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20885 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20886 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20887 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20890 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20891 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20893 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20894 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20897 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20898 when he's talking about Gnus:
20903 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20904 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20911 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20915 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20922 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20923 really don't want to read what he's written:
20927 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20928 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
20932 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20933 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20934 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20941 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20942 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20943 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20944 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20948 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
20949 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
20950 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
20951 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
20954 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20956 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20960 The possibilities are endless.
20962 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20963 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20965 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20966 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20967 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20968 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20969 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20970 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20971 @samp{subject}) first.
20973 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20974 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20985 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20986 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20992 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20999 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21000 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21005 @section Score Decays
21006 @cindex score decays
21009 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21010 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21011 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21012 use them in any sensible way.
21014 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21015 @findex gnus-decay-score
21016 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21017 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21018 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21019 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21020 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21021 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21022 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21023 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21024 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21025 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21029 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21030 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21031 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21033 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21035 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21037 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21038 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21039 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21040 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21041 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21043 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21047 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21048 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21049 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21050 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21054 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21057 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21060 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21064 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21065 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21066 the new score, which should be an integer.
21068 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21069 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21075 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
21076 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
21079 This chapter describes tools for searching groups and servers for
21080 articles matching a query and then retrieving those articles. Gnus
21081 provides a simpler mechanism for searching through articles in a summary buffer
21082 to find those matching a pattern. @xref{Searching for Articles}.
21085 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
21086 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
21093 This section describes how to use @code{nnir} to search for articles
21097 * What is nnir?:: What does @code{nnir} do?
21098 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
21099 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up @code{nnir}.
21102 @node What is nnir?
21103 @subsection What is nnir?
21105 @code{nnir} is a Gnus interface to a number of tools for searching
21106 through mail and news repositories. Different backends (like
21107 @code{nnimap} and @code{nntp}) work with different tools (called
21108 @dfn{engines} in @code{nnir} lingo), but all use the same basic search
21111 The @code{nnimap} and @code{gmane} search engines should work with no
21112 configuration. Other engines require a local index that needs to be
21113 created and maintained outside of Gnus.
21117 @subsection Basic Usage
21119 In the group buffer typing @kbd{G G} will search the group on the
21120 current line by calling @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. This prompts
21121 for a query string, creates an ephemeral @code{nnir} group containing
21122 the articles that match this query, and takes you to a summary buffer
21123 showing these articles. Articles may then be read, moved and deleted
21124 using the usual commands.
21126 The @code{nnir} group made in this way is an @code{ephemeral} group, and
21127 some changes are not permanent: aside from reading, moving, and
21128 deleting, you can't act on the original article. But there is an
21129 alternative: you can @emph{warp} to the original group for the article
21130 on the current line with @kbd{A W}, aka
21131 @code{gnus-warp-to-article}. Even better, the function
21132 @code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}, bound by default in summary buffers to
21133 @kbd{A T}, will first warp to the original group before it works its
21134 magic and includes all the articles in the thread. From here you can
21135 read, move and delete articles, but also copy them, alter article marks,
21138 You say you want to search more than just the group on the current line?
21139 No problem: just process-mark the groups you want to search. You want
21140 even more? Calling for an nnir search with the cursor on a topic heading
21141 will search all the groups under that heading.
21143 Still not enough? OK, in the server buffer
21144 @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group} (now bound to @kbd{G}) will search all
21145 groups from the server on the current line. Too much? Want to ignore
21146 certain groups when searching, like spam groups? Just customize
21147 @code{nnir-ignored-newsgroups}.
21149 One more thing: individual search engines may have special search
21150 features. You can access these special features by giving a prefix-arg
21151 to @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. If you are searching multiple
21152 groups with different search engines you will be prompted for the
21153 special search features for each engine separately.
21156 @node Setting up nnir
21157 @subsection Setting up nnir
21159 To set up nnir you may need to do some prep work. Firstly, you may need
21160 to configure the search engines you plan to use. Some of them, like
21161 @code{imap} and @code{gmane}, need no special configuration. Others,
21162 like @code{namazu} and @code{swish}, require configuration as described
21163 below. Secondly, you need to associate a search engine with a server or
21166 If you just want to use the @code{imap} engine to search @code{nnimap}
21167 servers, and the @code{gmane} engine to search @code{gmane} then you
21168 don't have to do anything. But you might want to read the details of the
21169 query language anyway.
21172 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
21173 * The imap Engine:: Imap configuration and usage.
21174 * The gmane Engine:: Gmane configuration and usage.
21175 * The swish++ Engine:: Swish++ configuration and usage.
21176 * The swish-e Engine:: Swish-e configuration and usage.
21177 * The namazu Engine:: Namazu configuration and usage.
21178 * The hyrex Engine:: Hyrex configuration and usage.
21179 * Customizations:: User customizable settings.
21182 @node Associating Engines
21183 @subsubsection Associating Engines
21186 When searching a group, @code{nnir} needs to know which search engine to
21187 use. You can configure a given server to use a particular engine by
21188 setting the server variable @code{nnir-search-engine} to the engine
21189 name. For example to use the @code{namazu} engine to search the server
21190 named @code{home} you can use
21193 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
21195 (nnimap-address "localhost")
21196 (nnir-search-engine namazu))))
21199 Alternatively you might want to use a particular engine for all servers
21200 with a given backend. For example, you might want to use the @code{imap}
21201 engine for all servers using the @code{nnimap} backend. In this case you
21202 can customize the variable @code{nnir-method-default-engines}. This is
21203 an alist of pairs of the form @code{(backend . engine)}. By default this
21204 variable is set to use the @code{imap} engine for all servers using the
21205 @code{nnimap} backend, and the @code{gmane} backend for @code{nntp}
21206 servers. (Don't worry, the @code{gmane} search engine won't actually try
21207 to search non-gmane @code{nntp} servers.) But if you wanted to use
21208 @code{namazu} for all your servers with an @code{nnimap} backend you
21209 could change this to
21212 '((nnimap . namazu)
21216 @node The imap Engine
21217 @subsubsection The imap Engine
21219 The @code{imap} engine requires no configuration.
21221 Queries using the @code{imap} engine follow a simple query language.
21222 The search is always case-insensitive and supports the following
21223 features (inspired by the Google search input language):
21227 @item Boolean query operators
21228 AND, OR, and NOT are supported, and parentheses can be used to control
21229 operator precedence, e.g. (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux. Note that
21230 operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21231 recognised. Also preceding a term with a - sign is equivalent to NOT
21234 @item Automatic AND queries
21235 If you specify multiple words then they will be treated as an AND
21236 expression intended to match all components.
21238 @item Phrase searches
21239 If you wrap your query in double-quotes then it will be treated as a
21244 By default the whole message will be searched. The query can be limited
21245 to a specific part of a message by using a prefix-arg. After inputting
21246 the query this will prompt (with completion) for a message part.
21247 Choices include ``Whole message'', ``Subject'', ``From'', and
21248 ``To''. Any unrecognized input is interpreted as a header name. For
21249 example, typing @kbd{Message-ID} in response to this prompt will limit
21250 the query to the Message-ID header.
21252 Finally selecting ``Imap'' will interpret the query as a raw
21253 @acronym{IMAP} search query. The format of such queries can be found in
21256 If you don't like the default of searching whole messages you can
21257 customize @code{nnir-imap-default-search-key}. For example to use
21258 @acronym{IMAP} queries by default
21261 (setq nnir-imap-default-search-key "Imap")
21264 @node The gmane Engine
21265 @subsubsection The gmane Engine
21267 The @code{gmane} engine requires no configuration.
21269 Gmane queries follow a simple query language:
21272 @item Boolean query operators
21273 AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT), and XOR are supported, and brackets can be
21274 used to control operator precedence, e.g. (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux.
21275 Note that operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21278 @item Required and excluded terms
21279 + and - can be used to require or exclude terms, e.g. football -american
21281 @item Unicode handling
21282 The search engine converts all text to utf-8, so searching should work
21286 Common English words (like 'the' and 'a') are ignored by default. You
21287 can override this by prefixing such words with a + (e.g. +the) or
21288 enclosing the word in quotes (e.g. "the").
21292 The query can be limited to articles by a specific author using a
21293 prefix-arg. After inputting the query this will prompt for an author
21294 name (or part of a name) to match.
21296 @node The swish++ Engine
21297 @subsubsection The swish++ Engine
21299 FIXEM: Say something more here.
21301 Documentation for swish++ may be found at the swish++ sourceforge page:
21302 @uref{http://swishplusplus.sourceforge.net}
21306 @item nnir-swish++-program
21307 The name of the swish++ executable. Defaults to @code{search}
21309 @item nnir-swish++-additional-switches
21310 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21311 swish++. @code{nil} by default.
21313 @item nnir-swish++-remove-prefix
21314 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish++ in order
21315 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21319 @node The swish-e Engine
21320 @subsubsection The swish-e Engine
21322 FIXEM: Say something more here.
21324 Documentation for swish-e may be found at the swish-e homepage
21325 @uref{http://swish-e.org}
21329 @item nnir-swish-e-program
21330 The name of the swish-e search program. Defaults to @code{swish-e}.
21332 @item nnir-swish-e-additional-switches
21333 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21334 swish-e. @code{nil} by default.
21336 @item nnir-swish-e-remove-prefix
21337 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish-e in order
21338 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21342 @node The namazu Engine
21343 @subsubsection The namazu Engine
21345 Using the namazu engine requires creating and maintaining index files.
21346 One directory should contain all the index files, and nnir must be told
21347 where to find them by setting the @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory}
21350 To work correctly the @code{nnir-namazu-remove-prefix} variable must
21351 also be correct. This is the prefix to remove from each file name
21352 returned by Namazu in order to get a proper group name (albeit with `/'
21355 For example, suppose that Namazu returns file names such as
21356 @samp{/home/john/Mail/mail/misc/42}. For this example, use the
21357 following setting: @code{(setq nnir-namazu-remove-prefix
21358 "/home/john/Mail/")} Note the trailing slash. Removing this prefix from
21359 the directory gives @samp{mail/misc/42}. @code{nnir} knows to remove
21360 the @samp{/42} and to replace @samp{/} with @samp{.} to arrive at the
21361 correct group name @samp{mail.misc}.
21363 Extra switches may be passed to the namazu search command by setting the
21364 variable @code{nnir-namazu-additional-switches}. It is particularly
21365 important not to pass any any switches to namazu that will change the
21366 output format. Good switches to use include `--sort', `--ascending',
21367 `--early' and `--late'. Refer to the Namazu documentation for further
21368 information on valid switches.
21370 Mail must first be indexed with the `mknmz' program. Read the documentation
21371 for namazu to create a configuration file. Here is an example:
21375 package conf; # Don't remove this line!
21377 # Paths which will not be indexed. Don't use `^' or `$' anchors.
21378 $EXCLUDE_PATH = "spam|sent";
21380 # Header fields which should be searchable. case-insensitive
21381 $REMAIN_HEADER = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21383 # Searchable fields. case-insensitive
21384 $SEARCH_FIELD = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21386 # The max length of a word.
21387 $WORD_LENG_MAX = 128;
21389 # The max length of a field.
21390 $MAX_FIELD_LENGTH = 256;
21394 For this example, mail is stored in the directories @samp{~/Mail/mail/},
21395 @samp{~/Mail/lists/} and @samp{~/Mail/archive/}, so to index them go to
21396 the index directory set in @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory} and issue
21397 the following command:
21400 mknmz --mailnews ~/Mail/archive/ ~/Mail/mail/ ~/Mail/lists/
21403 For maximum searching efficiency you might want to have a cron job run
21404 this command periodically, say every four hours.
21406 @node The hyrex Engine
21407 @subsubsection The hyrex Engine
21408 This engine is obsolete.
21410 @node Customizations
21411 @subsubsection Custimozations
21415 @item nnir-method-default-engines
21416 Alist of server backend - search engine pairs. The default associations
21423 @item nnir-ignored-newsgroups
21424 A regexp to match newsgroups in the active file that should be skipped
21425 when searching all groups on a server.
21427 @item nnir-summary-line-format
21428 The format specification to be used for lines in an nnir summary buffer.
21429 All the items from `gnus-summary-line-format' are available, along with
21430 three items unique to nnir summary buffers:
21433 %Z Search retrieval score value (integer)
21434 %G Article original full group name (string)
21435 %g Article original short group name (string)
21438 If nil (the default) this will use @code{gnus-summary-line-format}.
21440 @item nnir-retrieve-headers-override-function
21441 If non-nil, a function that retrieves article headers rather than using
21442 the gnus built-in function. This function takes an article list and
21443 group as arguments and populates the `nntp-server-buffer' with the
21444 retrieved headers. It should then return either 'nov or 'headers
21445 indicating the retrieved header format. Failure to retrieve headers
21446 should return @code{nil}
21448 If this variable is nil, or if the provided function returns nil for a
21449 search result, @code{gnus-retrieve-headers} will be called instead."
21460 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
21461 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
21462 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
21463 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
21466 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
21467 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
21468 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
21469 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
21470 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
21471 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
21472 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
21473 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
21474 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
21477 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
21478 @c E.g. adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
21479 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
21482 @subsection About mairix
21484 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
21485 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
21486 GPL. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
21487 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
21489 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
21491 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
21492 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
21493 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
21494 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
21495 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
21496 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
21497 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
21498 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
21501 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
21502 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
21503 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
21504 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
21505 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
21506 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
21507 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
21508 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
21511 @node nnmairix requirements
21512 @subsection nnmairix requirements
21514 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
21515 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
21516 server (e.g. an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
21517 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g. via ssh.
21519 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
21520 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
21521 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
21522 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
21524 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
21525 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
21526 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
21527 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
21528 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
21529 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
21531 @node What nnmairix does
21532 @subsection What nnmairix does
21534 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
21535 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
21536 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
21537 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g. to quickly
21538 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
21539 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
21540 mails are in different folders.
21542 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
21543 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
21544 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
21545 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID. If you check for
21546 new mail in these folders (e.g. by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
21547 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
21549 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
21550 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
21551 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
21552 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
21553 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
21554 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
21555 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
21556 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g. if you
21557 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
21558 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
21559 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
21561 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
21562 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
21563 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
21564 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
21565 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
21566 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
21567 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
21568 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
21569 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
21570 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
21571 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create e.g. a new
21572 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
21573 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
21574 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
21575 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
21576 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
21578 @node Setting up mairix
21579 @subsection Setting up mairix
21581 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
21583 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
21584 (at least) the following entries:
21587 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
21591 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
21592 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
21593 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
21594 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
21597 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
21598 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
21599 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
21602 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
21603 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
21604 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
21605 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
21606 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
21612 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
21613 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
21614 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
21615 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
21618 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
21619 database= ... location of database file ...
21622 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
21623 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
21624 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
21626 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
21630 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
21631 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
21632 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
21635 database=~/.mairixdatabase
21638 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
21639 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
21640 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
21641 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
21642 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
21643 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
21644 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
21645 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
21646 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
21647 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
21648 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
21649 The other lines should be obvious.
21651 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
21652 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
21653 than you are used to.
21655 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
21656 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
21657 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
21659 @node Configuring nnmairix
21660 @subsection Configuring nnmairix
21662 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
21663 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
21664 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
21665 server. You will have to specify the following:
21670 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
21674 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
21675 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
21676 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
21677 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
21678 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
21679 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
21680 However, you can also create e.g. a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
21681 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
21682 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
21683 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
21684 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might lose mail
21685 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
21686 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
21687 @code{nnimap} server here.
21690 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
21691 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
21692 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
21693 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g. on your
21694 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
21695 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
21696 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
21699 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
21700 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e. all searches which
21701 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
21705 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
21706 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e. with hidden maildir
21707 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
21708 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
21709 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
21713 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21714 @subsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21721 @kindex G b c (Group)
21722 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
21723 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
21724 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
21725 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
21728 @kindex G b s (Group)
21729 @findex nnmairix-search
21730 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
21731 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
21732 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
21735 @kindex G b m (Group)
21736 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
21737 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
21738 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
21739 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
21742 @kindex G b i (Group)
21743 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
21744 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
21745 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
21748 @kindex G b g (Group)
21749 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
21750 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
21751 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
21752 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
21756 @kindex G b q (Group)
21757 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
21758 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
21759 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
21762 @kindex G b t (Group)
21763 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
21764 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
21765 i.e. if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
21766 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
21769 @kindex G b u (Group)
21770 @findex nnmairix-update-database
21771 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
21772 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
21773 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
21774 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
21775 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
21779 @kindex G b r (Group)
21780 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
21781 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
21782 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
21785 @kindex G b d (Group)
21786 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
21787 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
21788 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
21789 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
21792 @kindex G b a (Group)
21793 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
21794 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
21795 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
21796 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
21797 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
21798 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
21799 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
21800 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
21801 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
21804 @kindex G b p (Group)
21805 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
21806 Toggle marks propagation for this group
21807 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
21811 @kindex G b o (Group)
21812 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
21813 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
21814 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
21823 @kindex $ m (Summary)
21824 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
21825 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
21826 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
21827 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
21830 @kindex $ g (Summary)
21831 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
21832 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
21833 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
21834 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
21837 @kindex $ t (Summary)
21838 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
21839 Searches thread for the current article
21840 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
21841 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
21842 current article and enabled threads.
21845 @kindex $ f (Summary)
21846 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
21847 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
21848 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
21849 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
21852 @kindex $ o (Summary)
21853 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
21854 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
21855 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that
21856 e.g. replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
21857 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
21858 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
21859 article file name as a fallback method.
21862 @kindex $ u (Summary)
21863 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
21864 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
21865 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
21870 @node Propagating marks
21871 @subsection Propagating marks
21873 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
21874 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
21875 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
21877 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
21879 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
21880 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
21881 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
21882 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
21885 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
21886 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
21887 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
21888 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
21889 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
21890 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
21891 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
21892 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
21893 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
21894 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
21896 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
21897 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
21898 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
21899 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
21900 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
21901 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
21902 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
21904 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
21905 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
21906 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
21907 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
21908 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
21909 even more cumbersome.
21911 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
21912 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
21913 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
21915 Marks propagation is deactivated by default. You can activate it for a
21916 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
21917 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
21918 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
21919 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
21920 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
21921 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
21923 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
21924 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
21925 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
21926 magically be set for the original article, too.
21928 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
21930 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
21931 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
21932 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
21933 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
21934 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
21935 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
21938 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
21939 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
21940 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
21941 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
21942 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
21943 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
21944 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
21946 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
21947 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
21948 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
21949 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
21950 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
21951 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
21952 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
21954 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e. if you
21955 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
21956 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
21957 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
21958 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
21959 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
21960 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
21961 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
21962 maildir as its file format.
21964 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
21965 If you work with this setup, just set
21966 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
21967 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
21968 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
21969 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
21970 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
21971 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
21973 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
21974 @subsection nnmairix tips and tricks
21980 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
21981 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
21982 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
21985 I use the following to check for mails:
21988 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
21990 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
21991 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
21992 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
21993 (gnus-group-list-groups))
21995 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
21998 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
21999 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
22003 Example: search group for ticked articles
22005 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
22006 articles always stay unread:
22008 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g. @samp{important}), use
22009 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
22011 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
22012 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
22014 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
22015 group? There are two options: You may simply use
22016 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
22017 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
22018 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
22019 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
22020 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
22021 e.g. by marking an article as read.
22023 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
22024 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
22025 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
22026 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
22027 snippet and the doc string for details.
22030 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
22032 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
22033 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
22034 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
22035 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
22036 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
22037 @code{nnml}, i.e. you will suddenly see groups of the form
22038 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
22039 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
22040 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
22041 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
22042 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
22043 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
22046 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
22047 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
22052 @node nnmairix caveats
22053 @subsection nnmairix caveats
22057 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
22058 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
22059 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
22060 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
22061 an example server definition:
22064 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
22067 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variabe
22068 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
22069 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
22073 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
22074 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
22075 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}; this is the default). Be
22076 @emph{extra careful} if you use
22077 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are split
22078 into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as you
22079 check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
22082 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
22083 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
22086 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
22087 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
22090 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
22093 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
22094 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
22095 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
22096 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
22097 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
22098 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
22102 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
22103 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
22104 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
22105 it is gone for good.
22108 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
22109 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
22110 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
22111 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
22112 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
22113 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
22114 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
22115 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
22116 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
22119 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
22120 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
22122 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
22123 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
22124 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
22125 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
22126 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
22127 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
22128 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
22129 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
22130 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
22131 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
22132 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
22133 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
22140 @include message.texi
22141 @chapter Emacs MIME
22142 @include emacs-mime.texi
22144 @include sieve.texi
22156 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
22157 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
22158 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
22159 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
22160 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
22161 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
22162 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
22163 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
22164 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
22165 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
22166 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
22167 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
22168 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
22169 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
22170 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
22171 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
22172 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
22173 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
22174 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
22175 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
22176 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
22180 @node Process/Prefix
22181 @section Process/Prefix
22182 @cindex process/prefix convention
22184 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
22185 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
22187 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
22188 command to be performed on.
22192 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
22193 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
22194 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
22195 with the current one.
22197 @vindex transient-mark-mode
22198 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
22199 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
22201 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
22202 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
22205 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
22206 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
22208 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
22211 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
22212 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
22213 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
22214 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22216 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
22217 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
22218 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
22219 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
22220 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
22221 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
22222 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
22223 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
22225 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
22226 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
22227 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
22228 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
22229 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
22233 @section Interactive
22234 @cindex interaction
22238 @item gnus-novice-user
22239 @vindex gnus-novice-user
22240 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
22241 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
22242 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
22243 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
22246 @item gnus-expert-user
22247 @vindex gnus-expert-user
22248 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
22249 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing,
22250 no matter how strange. For example, quitting Gnus, exiting a group
22251 without an update, catching up with a group, deleting expired
22252 articles, and replying by mail to a news message will not require
22255 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
22256 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
22257 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
22258 is @code{t} by default.
22260 @item gnus-interactive-exit
22261 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
22262 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22267 @node Symbolic Prefixes
22268 @section Symbolic Prefixes
22269 @cindex symbolic prefixes
22271 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
22272 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
22273 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
22274 rule of 900 to the current article.
22276 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
22277 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
22278 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
22279 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
22280 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
22281 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
22282 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
22284 @kindex M-i (Summary)
22285 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
22286 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
22287 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
22288 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
22289 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
22290 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
22291 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
22292 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
22294 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
22295 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
22296 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
22298 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
22302 @node Formatting Variables
22303 @section Formatting Variables
22304 @cindex formatting variables
22306 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
22307 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
22308 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
22309 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
22310 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
22313 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
22314 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
22315 lots of percentages everywhere.
22318 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
22319 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
22320 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
22321 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
22322 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
22323 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
22324 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
22325 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
22328 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
22329 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
22330 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
22331 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
22332 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
22333 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
22334 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
22335 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
22337 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
22338 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
22340 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
22341 @findex gnus-update-format
22342 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
22343 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
22344 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
22345 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
22349 @node Formatting Basics
22350 @subsection Formatting Basics
22352 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
22353 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
22354 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
22356 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
22357 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
22358 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
22359 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
22360 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
22363 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
22364 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
22365 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
22366 less than 4 characters wide.
22368 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
22369 @samp{%&user-date;}.
22372 @node Mode Line Formatting
22373 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
22375 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
22376 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
22377 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
22378 with the following two differences:
22383 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
22386 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
22387 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
22388 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
22389 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
22390 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
22391 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
22392 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
22397 @node Advanced Formatting
22398 @subsection Advanced Formatting
22400 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
22401 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
22402 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
22403 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
22405 These are the valid modifiers:
22410 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
22414 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
22419 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
22422 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
22427 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
22430 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
22433 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
22436 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22442 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22447 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22448 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22449 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22450 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22451 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22452 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22453 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22455 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22456 last operation, padding.
22458 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
22459 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
22460 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
22461 @xref{Compilation}.
22464 @node User-Defined Specs
22465 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22467 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22468 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22469 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22470 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22471 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22472 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22473 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22474 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22475 should protect against that.
22477 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22478 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22480 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22481 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22482 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22483 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22487 @node Formatting Fonts
22488 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22491 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22492 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22493 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22494 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22495 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22499 @vindex gnus-face-0
22500 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22501 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22502 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22503 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22504 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22505 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22507 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
22508 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
22509 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
22510 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22511 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22512 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22513 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22514 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22515 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22516 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22517 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22518 (in Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22519 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22520 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22523 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22526 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22527 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22528 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22530 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22531 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22532 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22533 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22534 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22535 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22536 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22538 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22539 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22540 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22543 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22544 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22546 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22547 mode-line variables.
22549 @node Positioning Point
22550 @subsection Positioning Point
22552 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22553 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22554 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22556 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22558 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22559 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22560 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22562 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22563 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22564 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22569 @subsection Tabulation
22571 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22572 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22573 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22574 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22576 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22577 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22579 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22580 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22581 This is the soft tabulator.
22583 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22584 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22585 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22588 @node Wide Characters
22589 @subsection Wide Characters
22591 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22592 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22593 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22595 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22596 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22597 these countries, that's not true.
22599 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22600 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22601 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22602 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22606 @node Window Layout
22607 @section Window Layout
22608 @cindex window layout
22610 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22612 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22613 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22614 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22615 @code{t} by default.
22617 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22618 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22620 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22621 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22622 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22625 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)))
22626 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22630 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22631 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22632 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22633 possible names is listed below.
22635 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22636 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22639 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22643 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22644 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22645 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22646 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22647 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22648 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22649 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22650 size spec per split.
22652 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22653 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22654 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22655 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22656 present) gets focus.
22658 Here's a more complicated example:
22661 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22662 (summary 0.25 point)
22666 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22667 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22668 occupy, not a percentage.
22670 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22671 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22672 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22673 be used as a split.
22675 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22678 (article (horizontal 1.0
22682 (summary 0.25 point)
22686 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22687 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22689 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22690 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22691 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22692 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22693 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22695 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22696 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22697 lines from the splits.
22699 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22704 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22705 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22706 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22707 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22708 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22709 size = number | frame-params
22710 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22714 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22715 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22716 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22717 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22719 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22720 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22721 @cindex window height
22722 @cindex window width
22723 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22724 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22725 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22726 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22727 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22728 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22730 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22731 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22732 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22733 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22735 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22736 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22737 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22738 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22739 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22740 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22741 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22742 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22743 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22744 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22745 configuration list.
22748 (gnus-configure-frame
22752 (article 0.3 point))
22760 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22761 @code{frame} split:
22764 (gnus-configure-frame
22767 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22769 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22770 (user-position . t)
22771 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22776 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22777 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22778 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22779 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22780 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22781 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22782 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22783 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22785 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22786 be found in its default value.
22788 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22789 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22790 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22794 (message (horizontal 1.0
22795 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22797 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22802 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22803 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22804 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22809 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22810 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22811 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22812 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22813 (name . "Message"))
22814 (message 1.0 point))))
22817 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22818 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22819 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22820 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22821 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22824 (gnus-add-configuration
22825 '(article (vertical 1.0
22827 (summary .25 point)
22831 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22832 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22833 Gnus has been loaded.
22835 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22836 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22837 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22838 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22839 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22841 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22842 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22843 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22846 @subsection Window Configuration Names
22848 Here's a list of most of the currently known window configurations,
22849 and when they're used:
22856 Entering a group and showing only the summary.
22859 Selecting an article.
22865 Browsing groups from the server buffer.
22868 Composing a (new) message.
22871 Showing only the article buffer.
22874 Editing an article.
22877 Editing group parameters and the like.
22880 Editing a server definition.
22883 Composing a news message.
22886 Replying or following up an article without yanking the text.
22889 Forwarding a message.
22892 Replying or following up an article with yanking the text.
22895 Bouncing a message.
22898 Sending an article to an external process.
22901 Sending a bug report.
22904 Displaying the score trace.
22907 Displaying the score words.
22910 Displaying the split trace.
22912 @item compose-bounce
22913 Composing a bounce message.
22916 Previewing a @acronym{MIME} part.
22921 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22925 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22926 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22941 (gnus-add-configuration
22944 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22946 (summary 0.16 point)
22949 (gnus-add-configuration
22952 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22953 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22959 @node Faces and Fonts
22960 @section Faces and Fonts
22965 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22966 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22967 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22972 @section Compilation
22973 @cindex compilation
22974 @cindex byte-compilation
22976 @findex gnus-compile
22978 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22979 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22980 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22981 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22982 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22983 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22986 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22987 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22988 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22989 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22990 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22991 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22992 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22996 @section Mode Lines
22999 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
23000 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
23001 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
23002 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
23003 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
23004 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
23005 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
23008 @cindex display-time
23010 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
23011 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
23012 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
23013 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
23014 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
23015 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
23016 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
23017 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
23020 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
23022 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
23023 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
23025 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
23026 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
23027 (length display-time-string)))))
23030 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
23031 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
23032 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
23033 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
23034 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
23037 @node Highlighting and Menus
23038 @section Highlighting and Menus
23040 @cindex highlighting
23043 @vindex gnus-visual
23044 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
23045 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
23046 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
23049 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
23050 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
23053 @item group-highlight
23054 Do highlights in the group buffer.
23055 @item summary-highlight
23056 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
23057 @item article-highlight
23058 Do highlights in the article buffer.
23060 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
23062 Create menus in the group buffer.
23064 Create menus in the summary buffers.
23066 Create menus in the article buffer.
23068 Create menus in the browse buffer.
23070 Create menus in the server buffer.
23072 Create menus in the score buffers.
23074 Create menus in all buffers.
23077 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
23078 buffers, you could say something like:
23081 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
23084 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
23087 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
23090 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
23091 in all Gnus buffers.
23093 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
23096 @item gnus-mouse-face
23097 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
23098 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
23099 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
23103 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
23107 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
23108 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
23109 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
23111 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
23112 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
23113 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
23115 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
23116 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
23117 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
23119 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
23120 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
23121 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
23123 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
23124 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
23125 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
23127 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
23128 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
23129 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
23139 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
23140 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
23141 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
23142 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
23143 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
23145 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
23146 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
23147 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
23149 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
23150 been idle for thirty minutes:
23153 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
23156 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
23160 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
23163 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
23164 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
23165 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23167 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
23168 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
23169 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
23170 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23172 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
23173 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
23174 @var{idle} minutes.
23176 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
23177 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
23180 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
23181 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
23182 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
23184 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
23185 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
23186 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
23187 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
23189 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
23190 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23192 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
23194 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
23197 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
23198 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
23199 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
23200 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
23201 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
23202 @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
23203 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
23204 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
23205 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
23206 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
23208 @findex gnus-demon-init
23209 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
23210 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
23211 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
23212 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
23213 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
23215 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
23216 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
23217 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
23225 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
23226 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
23227 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
23229 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
23230 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
23231 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
23232 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
23233 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
23234 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
23235 @code{undo} function.
23237 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
23238 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
23239 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
23240 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
23241 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
23242 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
23243 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
23244 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
23245 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
23246 never be totally undoable.
23248 @findex gnus-undo-mode
23249 @vindex gnus-use-undo
23251 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
23252 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
23253 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
23254 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
23258 @node Predicate Specifiers
23259 @section Predicate Specifiers
23260 @cindex predicate specifiers
23262 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
23263 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
23264 to type all that much.
23266 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
23271 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
23272 gnus-article-unread-p)
23275 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
23276 functions all take one parameter.
23278 @findex gnus-make-predicate
23279 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
23280 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
23281 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
23286 @section Moderation
23289 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
23290 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
23291 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
23294 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
23298 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
23301 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
23303 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
23308 You split your incoming mail by matching on
23309 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
23310 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
23313 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
23314 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
23317 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
23318 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
23322 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
23325 (setq gnus-moderated-list
23326 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
23330 @node Fetching a Group
23331 @section Fetching a Group
23332 @cindex fetching a group
23334 @findex gnus-fetch-group
23335 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
23336 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
23337 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
23338 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
23339 It takes the group name as a parameter.
23342 @node Image Enhancements
23343 @section Image Enhancements
23345 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
23346 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
23347 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
23350 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
23351 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
23352 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
23353 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
23354 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
23355 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
23363 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
23364 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
23365 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
23369 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
23370 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
23371 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
23379 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
23380 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
23381 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
23382 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
23383 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
23384 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
23385 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
23386 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
23387 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
23388 @code{display} program.
23390 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
23391 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
23392 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
23393 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
23394 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
23395 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
23396 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
23397 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
23399 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
23400 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
23401 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
23402 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
23403 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
23404 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
23406 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
23414 @vindex gnus-x-face
23415 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
23416 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
23417 default colors are black and white.
23419 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
23420 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
23421 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
23422 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
23423 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
23424 XEmacs. Here are examples:
23427 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
23428 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23429 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
23430 (png . (:ascent 80))))
23432 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
23433 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23434 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
23435 (png . (:relief -2))))
23438 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
23439 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
23440 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
23441 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
23442 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
23443 @samp{libcompface} library.
23446 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
23447 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
23448 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
23449 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
23450 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
23451 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
23453 @findex gnus-random-x-face
23454 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
23455 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
23456 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23457 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23458 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23459 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23460 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23461 header data as a string.
23463 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23464 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23465 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23466 randomly generated data.
23468 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23469 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23470 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23471 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23472 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23474 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23475 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23478 (setq message-required-news-headers
23479 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23480 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23483 Using the last function would be something like this:
23486 (setq message-required-news-headers
23487 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23488 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23489 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23490 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23498 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23500 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23501 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23502 represent the author of the message.
23505 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23506 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23507 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23510 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23511 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23513 Viewing a @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23516 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23518 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23520 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23521 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23523 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23524 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23525 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23527 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23528 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23529 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23530 converts the file to Face format by using the
23531 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23533 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23534 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23537 (setq message-required-news-headers
23538 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23539 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23540 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23545 @subsection Smileys
23550 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23555 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23556 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23558 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23559 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23562 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23565 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23566 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23567 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23568 text and maps that to file names.
23570 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23571 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23572 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23573 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23574 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23577 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
23582 @vindex smiley-style
23583 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
23584 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
23585 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
23586 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
23589 @item smiley-data-directory
23590 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23591 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
23592 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
23594 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23595 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23596 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23610 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23611 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23612 over your shoulder as you read news.
23614 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23623 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23624 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23625 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23626 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23627 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23628 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23629 @code{GIF} formats.
23632 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23633 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23634 point your Web browser at
23635 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23637 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23638 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23640 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23641 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23644 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23645 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23646 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23647 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23649 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23653 @item gnus-picon-databases
23654 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23655 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23656 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23657 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23658 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23660 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23661 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23662 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23663 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23665 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23666 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23667 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23668 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23670 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23671 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23672 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23673 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23674 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23676 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23677 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23678 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23679 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23681 @item gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23682 @vindex gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23683 If non-@code{nil} (which is the default), don't display picons for
23684 things like @samp{.net} and @samp{.de}, which aren't usually very
23690 @subsection Gravatars
23694 \include{gravatars}
23698 A gravatar is an image registered to an e-mail address.
23700 You can submit yours on-line at @uref{http://www.gravatar.com}.
23702 The following variables offer control over how things are displayed.
23706 @item gnus-gravatar-size
23707 @vindex gnus-gravatar-size
23708 The size in pixels of gravatars. Gravatars are always square, so one
23709 number for the size is enough.
23711 @item gnus-gravatar-properties
23712 @vindex gnus-gravatar-properties
23713 List of image properties applied to Gravatar images.
23715 @item gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23716 @vindex gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23717 Regexp that matches mail addresses or names of people of which avatars
23718 should not be displayed, or @code{nil}. It default to the value of
23719 @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (@pxref{X-Face}).
23723 If you want to see them in the From field, set:
23725 (setq gnus-treat-from-gravatar 'head)
23728 If you want to see them in the Cc and To fields, set:
23731 (setq gnus-treat-mail-gravatar 'head)
23736 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23739 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23740 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23741 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23742 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23743 unusual directory structure.
23745 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23746 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23747 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23752 @subsubsection Toolbar
23756 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23757 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23758 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23759 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23760 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23761 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23762 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23763 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23765 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23766 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23767 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23768 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23769 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23770 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23772 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23773 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23774 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23776 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23777 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23778 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23780 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23781 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23782 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23793 @node Fuzzy Matching
23794 @section Fuzzy Matching
23795 @cindex fuzzy matching
23797 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23798 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23800 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23801 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23802 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23804 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23805 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23806 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23807 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23808 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23811 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23812 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23816 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23818 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23819 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23820 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23821 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23822 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23823 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23824 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23825 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23828 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23829 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23830 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23831 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23832 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23833 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23835 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23838 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23839 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23840 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23841 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23844 @node The problem of spam
23845 @subsection The problem of spam
23847 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23848 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23850 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23852 First, some background on spam.
23854 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23855 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23856 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23857 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23858 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23859 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23860 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23861 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23862 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23864 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23865 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23866 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23867 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23868 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23869 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23870 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23871 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23872 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23875 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23876 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23877 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23878 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23879 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23880 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23881 from Bulgarian IPs.
23883 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23884 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23885 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23886 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23888 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23889 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23890 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23891 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23893 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23894 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23895 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23896 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23897 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23898 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23899 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23900 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23901 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23903 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23904 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23905 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23906 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23907 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23908 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23909 down for some time because of the incident.
23911 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23912 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23913 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23914 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23915 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23916 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23917 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23918 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23919 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23920 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23921 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23923 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23924 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23925 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23926 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23927 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23928 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23929 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23932 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23933 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23937 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23939 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23940 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23942 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23943 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23944 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23945 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23946 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23947 part of the mail address.)
23950 (setq message-default-news-headers
23951 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23954 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23955 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23959 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23960 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23961 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23966 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23967 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23968 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23969 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23971 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23972 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23973 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23974 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23975 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23976 your fancy split rule in this way:
23981 (to "larsi" "misc")
23985 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23986 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23987 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23988 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23989 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23991 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23992 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23993 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23994 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23996 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
24000 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
24001 @cindex SpamAssassin
24002 @cindex Vipul's Razor
24005 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
24006 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
24007 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
24008 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
24009 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
24010 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
24011 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
24013 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
24014 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
24015 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
24018 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
24019 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
24020 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
24021 Specifiers}) follow.
24025 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
24029 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
24032 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
24033 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
24034 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
24037 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
24041 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
24044 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
24045 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
24049 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
24050 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
24051 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
24052 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
24055 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
24057 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
24061 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
24062 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
24066 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
24067 downloaded by default. You need to set
24068 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
24069 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
24071 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
24072 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
24073 spam. And here is the nifty function:
24076 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
24077 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
24079 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
24080 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
24084 @subsection Hashcash
24087 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
24088 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
24089 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
24090 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
24091 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
24093 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
24094 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
24095 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
24096 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
24097 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
24098 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
24099 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
24100 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
24101 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
24102 one of them separately.
24105 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
24106 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
24107 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
24108 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
24109 need to install to use this feature, see
24110 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
24111 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
24113 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
24114 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
24115 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
24118 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
24121 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
24125 @item hashcash-default-payment
24126 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
24127 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
24128 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
24131 @item hashcash-payment-alist
24132 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
24133 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
24134 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
24135 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
24136 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
24137 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
24138 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
24139 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
24141 @item hashcash-path
24142 @vindex hashcash-path
24143 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
24144 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
24145 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
24146 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
24147 when you generate hashcash payments.
24151 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
24152 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
24153 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
24154 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
24155 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
24156 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
24157 Hashcash Payments}).
24160 @section Spam Package
24161 @cindex spam filtering
24164 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
24165 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
24166 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
24167 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
24170 * Spam Package Introduction::
24171 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
24172 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
24173 * Spam and Ham Processors::
24174 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
24176 * Extending the Spam package::
24177 * Spam Statistics Package::
24180 @node Spam Package Introduction
24181 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
24182 @cindex spam filtering
24183 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
24186 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
24187 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
24189 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
24190 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
24192 @cindex spam-initialize
24193 @vindex spam-use-stat
24194 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
24195 @code{spam-initialize}:
24201 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
24202 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
24203 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
24204 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
24205 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
24207 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
24208 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
24210 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
24211 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
24213 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
24214 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
24215 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
24216 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
24217 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
24219 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
24220 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
24221 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
24222 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
24223 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
24226 @cindex spam back ends
24227 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
24228 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
24229 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
24230 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
24231 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24233 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
24234 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
24236 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
24237 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
24238 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
24239 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
24240 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
24241 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
24242 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
24244 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
24245 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
24246 point, the Spam package does several things:
24248 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
24249 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
24250 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
24251 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
24252 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
24253 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
24254 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
24255 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
24258 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
24259 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
24267 @kindex $ (Summary)
24268 @kindex M-d (Summary)
24269 @kindex S x (Summary)
24270 @kindex M s x (Summary)
24271 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24272 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24273 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
24274 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
24278 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
24279 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
24281 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
24282 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
24283 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
24284 to be processed as ham by setting
24285 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
24286 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
24288 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24289 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24290 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
24291 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
24292 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
24293 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
24294 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
24295 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
24296 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
24297 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
24298 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
24299 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
24301 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
24302 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
24303 want each article to be processed only once, load the
24304 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
24305 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
24306 Configuration Examples}.
24308 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
24309 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
24310 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
24311 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
24313 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
24314 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
24316 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
24317 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
24318 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
24320 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
24321 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
24322 @cindex spam filtering
24323 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
24326 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
24327 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
24328 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
24329 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
24330 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
24336 @vindex spam-split-group
24338 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
24339 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
24340 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
24341 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
24342 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
24343 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
24344 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
24345 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
24346 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
24348 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
24350 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
24351 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
24352 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
24353 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to
24354 @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can ``scan''
24355 the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only retrieves
24356 the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells it to
24357 retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by default
24358 because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
24359 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Client-Side
24362 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
24363 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
24364 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
24365 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
24366 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
24367 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
24368 ends, and the following split rule:
24371 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24372 (any "ding" "ding")
24374 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24379 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
24380 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
24381 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
24382 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
24383 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
24384 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
24386 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
24387 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
24388 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
24389 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
24394 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
24395 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24396 (any "ding" "ding")
24397 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
24399 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24404 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
24405 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
24406 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
24407 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
24408 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
24409 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
24410 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
24412 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24413 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24414 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24415 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24417 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
24418 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
24421 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
24422 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
24424 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
24425 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
24426 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
24427 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24429 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24430 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24431 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24432 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
24434 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
24435 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
24436 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
24438 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
24439 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
24440 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
24441 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
24442 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
24443 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
24444 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
24446 @node Spam and Ham Processors
24447 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
24448 @cindex spam filtering
24449 @cindex spam filtering variables
24450 @cindex spam variables
24453 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
24454 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
24455 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
24456 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
24457 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
24458 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
24459 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
24461 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
24462 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
24463 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
24464 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
24466 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24467 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
24468 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
24469 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
24470 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
24471 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
24472 by customizing the corresponding variable
24473 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
24474 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
24475 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
24476 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
24477 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
24478 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
24479 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
24482 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
24484 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
24485 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
24486 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
24487 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
24488 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
24489 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
24490 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
24491 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
24492 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
24493 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
24494 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
24495 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
24496 processor which will study them as spam samples.
24498 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
24499 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
24500 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
24501 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
24502 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
24503 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
24504 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
24505 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
24508 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24509 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
24510 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
24511 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
24512 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
24513 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
24514 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24519 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24520 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24521 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24522 you really want to.
24525 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24526 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24527 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24528 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24529 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24530 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24533 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24534 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24535 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24536 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24537 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24538 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24539 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24540 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24541 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24542 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24543 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24544 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24545 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24546 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24547 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24549 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24550 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24552 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24553 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24554 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24556 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24557 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24559 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24560 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24561 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24562 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24563 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24565 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24566 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24567 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24568 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24569 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24572 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24573 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24574 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24575 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24576 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24577 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24578 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24579 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24580 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24581 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24582 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24583 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24584 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24586 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24587 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24589 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24590 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24593 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24594 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24595 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24596 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24597 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24598 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24599 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24601 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24602 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24603 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24604 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24606 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24607 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24608 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24609 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24610 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24611 from the mail server.
24613 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24614 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24615 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24616 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24618 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24619 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24620 @cindex spam filtering
24621 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24622 @cindex spam configuration examples
24625 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24627 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24629 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24630 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24631 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24635 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24637 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24638 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24639 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24640 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24641 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24642 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24643 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24644 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24645 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24646 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
24647 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24648 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24649 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24650 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24651 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24652 (any "ding" "ding")
24653 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24655 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24658 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24660 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24661 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24662 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24663 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24665 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24667 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24668 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24669 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24670 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24671 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24673 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24674 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24676 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24678 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24679 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24681 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24682 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24683 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24685 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24687 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24688 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24690 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24691 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24692 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24694 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24695 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24696 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24697 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24699 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24700 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24701 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24705 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24706 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24708 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24709 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24710 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24711 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24712 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24713 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24714 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24715 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24716 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24718 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24719 does most of the job for me:
24722 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24723 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24724 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24725 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24726 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24727 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24728 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24733 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24735 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24736 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24737 bogofilter or DCC).
24739 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24740 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24741 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24742 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24743 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24744 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24745 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24747 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24748 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24749 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24750 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24751 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24752 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24754 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24756 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24757 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24758 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24759 @samp{training.spam}.
24762 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24764 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24766 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24767 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24768 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24772 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24775 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24776 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24777 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24778 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24779 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24781 @node Spam Back Ends
24782 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24783 @cindex spam back ends
24785 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24786 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24787 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24788 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24792 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24793 * BBDB Whitelists::
24794 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24795 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24797 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24799 * SpamAssassin back end::
24800 * ifile spam filtering::
24801 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24805 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24806 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24807 @cindex spam filtering
24808 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24809 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24812 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24814 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24815 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24816 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24817 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24822 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24824 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24825 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24826 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24827 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24828 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24832 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24834 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24835 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24836 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24840 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24842 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24843 customizing the group parameters or the
24844 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24845 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24846 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24850 Instead of the obsolete
24851 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24852 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24853 the same way, we promise.
24857 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24859 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24860 customizing the group parameters or the
24861 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24862 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24863 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24868 Instead of the obsolete
24869 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24870 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24871 the same way, we promise.
24875 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24876 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24877 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24878 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24879 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24881 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24882 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24883 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24884 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24886 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24887 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24888 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24889 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24890 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24891 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24893 @node BBDB Whitelists
24894 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24895 @cindex spam filtering
24896 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24897 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24900 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24902 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24903 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24904 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24905 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24906 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24907 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24908 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24912 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24914 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24915 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24916 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24917 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24918 classified as spammers.
24920 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24921 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24922 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24923 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24928 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24930 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24931 customizing the group parameters or the
24932 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24933 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24934 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24939 Instead of the obsolete
24940 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24941 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24942 the same way, we promise.
24946 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24947 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24948 @cindex spam reporting
24949 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24950 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24953 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24955 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24956 customizing the group parameters or the
24957 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24958 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24959 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24962 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24966 Instead of the obsolete
24967 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24968 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24969 same way, we promise.
24973 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24975 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24976 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24977 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24978 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24979 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24983 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24985 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24986 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24987 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24991 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24992 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24993 @cindex spam filtering
24994 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24997 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24999 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
25000 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
25001 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
25002 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
25003 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
25004 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
25009 @subsubsection Blackholes
25010 @cindex spam filtering
25011 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
25014 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
25016 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
25017 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
25018 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
25019 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
25020 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
25021 contains outdated servers.
25023 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
25024 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
25025 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
25026 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
25027 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
25028 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
25032 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
25034 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
25038 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
25040 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
25041 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
25045 @defvar spam-use-dig
25047 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
25048 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
25052 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
25053 ham processor for blackholes.
25055 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
25056 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
25057 @cindex spam filtering
25058 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
25061 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
25063 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
25064 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
25065 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
25066 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
25067 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
25068 message is spam or ham, respectively.
25072 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
25074 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25075 the message, positively identify it as spam.
25079 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
25081 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25082 the message, positively identify it as ham.
25086 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
25087 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
25090 @subsubsection Bogofilter
25091 @cindex spam filtering
25092 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
25095 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
25097 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25100 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
25101 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
25102 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
25103 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
25104 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
25105 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
25107 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
25108 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
25111 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
25112 processing will be turned off.
25114 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
25123 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
25124 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
25127 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
25129 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25130 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
25131 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
25132 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
25133 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
25134 installation documents for details.
25136 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
25140 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
25141 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25142 customizing the group parameters or the
25143 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25144 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
25145 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
25149 Instead of the obsolete
25150 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25151 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25152 the same way, we promise.
25155 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
25156 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25157 customizing the group parameters or the
25158 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25159 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25160 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
25161 of non-spam messages.
25165 Instead of the obsolete
25166 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25167 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25168 the same way, we promise.
25171 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
25173 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
25174 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
25175 database directory.
25179 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
25180 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25181 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
25182 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
25183 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
25184 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
25186 @node SpamAssassin back end
25187 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
25188 @cindex spam filtering
25189 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
25192 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
25194 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
25196 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
25197 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
25198 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
25199 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
25202 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
25203 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
25204 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
25205 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
25208 You should not enable this if you use
25209 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
25213 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
25215 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
25216 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
25218 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
25222 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
25224 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
25225 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
25226 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
25227 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
25231 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
25232 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
25233 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
25234 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
25235 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
25236 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
25237 to test this functionality.
25239 @node ifile spam filtering
25240 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
25241 @cindex spam filtering
25242 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
25245 @defvar spam-use-ifile
25247 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
25248 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
25252 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
25254 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
25255 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
25256 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
25260 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
25262 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
25263 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
25264 the default value of @samp{spam}.
25267 @defvar spam-ifile-database
25269 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
25270 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
25274 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
25275 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25276 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
25277 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
25280 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
25281 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
25282 @cindex spam filtering
25283 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
25287 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
25288 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
25289 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
25290 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
25291 spam-stat dictionary}.
25293 @defvar spam-use-stat
25297 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
25298 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25299 customizing the group parameters or the
25300 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25301 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
25302 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
25306 Instead of the obsolete
25307 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25308 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25309 the same way, we promise.
25312 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
25313 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25314 customizing the group parameters or the
25315 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25316 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25317 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
25318 of non-spam messages.
25322 Instead of the obsolete
25323 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25324 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25325 the same way, we promise.
25328 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
25329 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
25330 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
25331 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
25332 @code{spam-split} are provided.
25335 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
25336 @cindex spam filtering
25340 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
25341 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
25342 installed separately.
25344 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
25345 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
25346 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
25347 mail as a spam mail or not.
25349 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
25350 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
25351 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
25353 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
25356 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
25357 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
25358 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
25359 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
25360 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
25361 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
25362 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
25363 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
25366 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
25367 spam-split-group "Junk"
25368 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
25369 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
25370 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
25373 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
25374 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
25378 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
25379 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
25380 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
25384 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
25385 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
25386 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
25387 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
25388 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
25389 database to live somewhere special, set
25390 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
25393 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
25394 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
25395 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
25396 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
25397 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
25398 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
25399 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
25400 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
25401 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
25402 @xref{Spam Package}.
25404 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
25405 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25406 customizing the group parameter or the
25407 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25408 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
25409 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
25413 Instead of the obsolete
25414 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25415 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25416 the same way, we promise.
25419 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
25420 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25421 customizing the group parameter or the
25422 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25423 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
25424 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
25429 Instead of the obsolete
25430 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25431 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25432 the same way, we promise.
25435 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
25436 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
25439 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
25440 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
25441 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
25443 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
25444 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
25445 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
25446 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
25447 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
25448 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
25450 @node Extending the Spam package
25451 @subsection Extending the Spam package
25452 @cindex spam filtering
25453 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
25454 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
25456 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
25457 incoming mail, provide the following:
25465 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
25466 "True if blackbox should be used.")
25469 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
25471 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
25472 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
25473 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
25474 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
25475 register/unregister spam and ham.
25480 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
25481 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
25482 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
25483 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
25488 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
25495 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
25496 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
25498 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
25499 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
25500 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
25501 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
25504 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
25505 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
25506 Only applicable to spam groups.")
25508 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
25509 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
25510 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25519 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25520 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25522 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25523 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25524 variable customization.
25528 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25530 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25531 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25533 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25534 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25540 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25542 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25543 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25544 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25547 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25549 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25550 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25554 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25556 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25557 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25558 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25562 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25564 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25565 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25566 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25569 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25571 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25572 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25576 @code{spam-install-backend}
25578 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25579 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25580 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25583 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25585 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25586 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25587 never install such a back end.
25592 @node Spam Statistics Package
25593 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25594 @cindex Paul Graham
25595 @cindex Graham, Paul
25596 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25597 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25598 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25600 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25601 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25602 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25603 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25604 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25605 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25606 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25607 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25608 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25611 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25612 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25613 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25614 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25615 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25616 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25617 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25618 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25620 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25621 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25622 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25624 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25625 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25626 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25627 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25628 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25631 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25632 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25633 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25636 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25637 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25639 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25640 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25641 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25642 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25643 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25645 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25646 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25647 per mail. Use the following:
25649 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25650 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25651 is treated as one spam mail.
25654 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25655 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25656 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25659 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25660 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25661 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25662 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25663 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25664 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25666 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25667 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25668 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25669 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25670 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25673 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25674 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25675 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25676 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25679 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25680 reset the dictionary.
25682 @defun spam-stat-reset
25683 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25686 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25687 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25688 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25689 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25690 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25691 only non-spam mails.
25693 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25694 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25695 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25698 @defun spam-stat-save
25699 Save the dictionary.
25702 @defvar spam-stat-file
25703 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25704 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25707 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25708 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25710 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25711 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25713 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25716 (require 'spam-stat)
25720 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25723 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25724 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25725 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25726 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25728 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25729 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25730 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25731 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25734 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25735 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25739 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25740 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25743 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25744 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25745 expression are considered potential spam.
25748 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25749 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25750 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25754 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25755 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25756 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25757 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25758 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25761 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25762 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25763 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25767 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25768 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25769 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25770 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25771 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25775 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25776 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25777 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25778 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25783 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25784 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25786 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25788 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25789 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25790 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25793 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25794 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25795 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25798 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25799 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25800 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25801 already been processed as non-spam.
25804 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25805 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25806 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25807 been processed as spam.
25810 @defun spam-stat-save
25811 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25812 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25815 @defun spam-stat-load
25816 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25817 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25820 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25821 Return the spam score for a word.
25824 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25825 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25828 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25829 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25830 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25833 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25834 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25837 (require 'spam-stat)
25841 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25844 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25845 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25846 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25847 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25848 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25849 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25850 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25851 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25852 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25853 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25854 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25855 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25856 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25857 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25860 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25863 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25864 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25865 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25866 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25867 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25868 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25871 @node The Gnus Registry
25872 @section The Gnus Registry
25877 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
25878 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
25879 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
25880 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
25881 features are pretty cool.
25883 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
25884 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
25888 Split messages to their parent
25890 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
25891 the sender in addition to the Message-ID. Several strategies are
25895 Refer to messages by ID
25897 Commands like @code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article} can take
25898 advantage of the registry to jump to the referred article, regardless
25899 of the group the message is in.
25902 Store custom flags and keywords
25904 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
25905 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
25906 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
25910 Store arbitrary data
25912 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
25913 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
25914 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
25918 * Gnus Registry Setup::
25919 * Fancy splitting to parent::
25920 * Registry Article Refer Method::
25921 * Store custom flags and keywords::
25922 * Store arbitrary data::
25925 @node Gnus Registry Setup
25926 @subsection Gnus Registry Setup
25928 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
25931 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500)
25933 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25936 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
25937 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
25938 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.) so
25939 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
25940 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
25942 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
25943 what they do before you copy them blindly).
25947 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
25948 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
25952 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
25953 ;; this is the default
25954 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
25957 They say: keep a lot of messages around, track messages by sender and
25958 subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when the registry splits
25959 incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where messages should go
25960 if there's more than one possibility. In addition, the registry
25961 should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'', ``nnrss'',
25962 ``spam'', or ``train.''
25964 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
25965 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
25966 the general settings.
25968 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
25969 The groups that will not be followed by
25970 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
25971 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
25972 By default any group name that ends with ``delayed'', ``drafts'',
25973 ``queue'', or ``INBOX'', belongs to the nnmairix backend, or contains
25974 the word ``archive'' is not followed.
25977 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
25978 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
25979 registry will keep.
25982 @defvar gnus-registry-max-pruned-entries
25983 The maximum number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries
25984 the registry will keep after pruning.
25987 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
25988 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions. By
25989 default the file name is @code{.gnus.registry.eioio} in the same
25990 directory as your @code{.newsrc.eld}.
25993 @node Registry Article Refer Method
25994 @subsection Fetching by @code{Message-ID} Using the Registry
25996 The registry knows how to map each @code{Message-ID} to the group it's
25997 in. This can be leveraged to enhance the ``article refer method'',
25998 the thing that tells Gnus how to look up an article given its
25999 Message-ID (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26002 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
26004 The @code{nnregistry} refer method does exactly that. It has the
26005 advantage that an article may be found regardless of the group it's
26006 in---provided its @code{Message-ID} is known to the registry. It can
26007 be enabled by augmenting the start-up file with something along these
26011 ;; Keep enough entries to have a good hit rate when referring to an
26012 ;; article using the registry. Use long group names so that Gnus
26013 ;; knows where the article is.
26014 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500)
26016 (gnus-registry-initialize)
26018 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
26021 (nnweb "gmane" (nnweb-type gmane))))
26024 The example above instructs Gnus to first look up the article in the
26025 current group, or, alternatively, using the registry, and finally, if
26026 all else fails, using Gmane.
26028 @node Fancy splitting to parent
26029 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
26031 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
26033 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
26034 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
26035 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
26038 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
26039 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
26040 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
26041 have to put a rule like this:
26044 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
26046 ;; split to parent: you need this
26047 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
26049 ;; other rules, as an example
26055 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
26056 following variables.
26058 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
26059 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
26060 Customize interface. By default it's @code{(subject sender)}, which
26061 may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large and
26062 people don't stick to the same groups.
26065 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
26066 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
26067 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
26068 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
26069 the majority of matches or on the first found. I find @code{majority}
26073 @node Store custom flags and keywords
26074 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
26076 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
26077 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
26078 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
26080 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
26081 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
26082 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
26083 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
26084 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
26085 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
26087 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
26088 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
26089 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
26093 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
26094 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
26095 will offer the available marks for completion.
26098 You can use @code{defalias} to install a summary line formatting
26099 function that will show the registry marks. There are two flavors of
26100 this function, either showing the marks as single characters, using
26101 their @code{:char} property, or showing the marks as full strings.
26104 ;; show the marks as single characters (see the :char property in
26105 ;; `gnus-registry-marks'):
26106 ;; (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-M 'gnus-registry-article-marks-to-chars)
26108 ;; show the marks by name (see `gnus-registry-marks'):
26109 ;; (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-M 'gnus-registry-article-marks-to-names)
26113 @node Store arbitrary data
26114 @subsection Store arbitrary data
26116 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
26117 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
26120 @defun gnus-registry-set-id-key (id key value)
26121 Store @code{value} under @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26124 @defun gnus-registry-get-id-key (id key)
26125 Get the data under @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26128 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
26129 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
26130 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
26131 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
26132 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
26137 @section Interaction with other modes
26142 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
26143 buffers. It is enabled with
26145 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
26150 @findex gnus-dired-attach
26151 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
26152 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
26153 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
26156 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
26157 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
26158 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
26162 @findex gnus-dired-print
26163 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
26164 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
26167 @node Various Various
26168 @section Various Various
26174 @item gnus-home-directory
26175 @vindex gnus-home-directory
26176 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
26177 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
26179 @item gnus-directory
26180 @vindex gnus-directory
26181 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
26182 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
26183 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
26185 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
26186 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
26187 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
26188 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
26190 @item gnus-default-directory
26191 @vindex gnus-default-directory
26192 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
26193 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
26194 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
26195 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
26196 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
26197 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
26200 @vindex gnus-verbose
26201 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
26202 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
26203 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
26204 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
26205 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
26207 @item gnus-verbose-backends
26208 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
26209 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
26210 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
26212 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26213 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26214 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
26215 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
26216 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
26217 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
26218 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
26219 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
26220 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
26221 displayed in the echo area.
26223 @item nnheader-max-head-length
26224 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
26225 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
26226 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
26227 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
26228 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
26229 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
26230 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
26231 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
26232 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
26234 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
26235 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
26236 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
26237 read when doing the operation described above.
26239 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26240 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26242 @cindex invalid characters in file names
26243 @cindex characters in file names
26244 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
26245 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
26246 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
26250 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26255 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
26256 Windows (phooey) systems.
26258 @item gnus-hidden-properties
26259 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
26260 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
26261 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
26262 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
26264 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
26265 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
26266 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
26267 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
26268 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
26270 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
26271 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
26272 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
26274 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26275 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26277 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
26278 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
26279 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
26280 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
26283 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
26285 @item gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26286 @vindex gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26287 Groups in which links in html articles are considered all safe. The
26288 value may be a regexp matching those groups, a list of group names, or
26289 @code{nil}. This overrides @code{mm-w3m-safe-url-regexp}. The default
26290 value is @code{"\\`nnrss[+:]"}. This is effective only when emacs-w3m
26291 renders html articles, i.e., in the case @code{mm-text-html-renderer} is
26292 set to @code{w3m}. @xref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization,
26293 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}.
26300 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
26301 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
26303 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
26305 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
26311 Not because of victories @*
26314 but for the common sunshine,@*
26316 the largess of the spring.
26320 but for the day's work done@*
26321 as well as I was able;@*
26322 not for a seat upon the dais@*
26323 but at the common table.@*
26328 @chapter Appendices
26331 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
26332 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
26333 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
26334 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
26335 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
26336 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
26337 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
26338 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
26339 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
26346 @cindex installing under XEmacs
26348 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
26349 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
26350 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
26351 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
26352 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
26353 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
26360 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
26361 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
26363 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
26364 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
26365 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
26366 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
26367 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
26369 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
26370 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
26371 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
26372 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
26373 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
26374 appropriate name, don't you think?)
26376 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
26377 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
26378 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
26379 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
26382 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
26383 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
26384 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
26385 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
26386 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
26387 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
26388 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
26389 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
26390 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
26394 @node Gnus Versions
26395 @subsection Gnus Versions
26397 @cindex September Gnus
26399 @cindex Quassia Gnus
26400 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
26403 @cindex Gnus versions
26405 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
26406 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
26407 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
26409 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
26410 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
26412 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
26413 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
26415 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
26416 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
26418 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
26419 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
26422 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
26423 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
26425 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
26427 On April 19, 2010 Gnus development was moved to Git. See
26428 http://git.gnus.org for details (http://www.gnus.org will be updated
26429 with the information when possible).
26431 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
26432 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
26433 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
26434 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
26435 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
26436 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
26439 @node Other Gnus Versions
26440 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
26443 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
26444 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
26445 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
26446 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
26448 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
26449 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
26450 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
26451 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
26458 What's the point of Gnus?
26460 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
26461 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
26462 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
26463 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
26464 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
26465 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
26466 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
26467 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
26468 keep track of millions of people who post?
26470 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
26471 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
26472 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
26473 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
26474 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
26475 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
26476 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
26477 every one of you to explore and invent.
26479 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
26480 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
26483 @node Compatibility
26484 @subsection Compatibility
26486 @cindex compatibility
26487 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
26488 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
26489 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
26494 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
26498 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
26501 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
26504 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
26505 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
26506 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
26507 important variables have their values copied into their global
26508 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
26509 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
26511 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
26512 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
26513 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
26514 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
26515 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
26519 @cindex highlighting
26520 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
26521 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
26522 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
26523 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
26524 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
26525 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
26528 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
26529 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
26530 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
26531 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
26533 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
26534 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
26535 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
26536 to stop doing it the old way.
26538 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
26540 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26542 @cindex reporting bugs
26544 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
26545 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
26546 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
26548 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
26549 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
26550 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
26551 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
26556 @subsection Conformity
26558 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
26559 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
26567 There are no known breaches of this standard.
26571 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
26573 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
26574 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
26575 We do have some breaches to this one.
26581 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
26582 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
26583 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
26584 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
26585 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
26590 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
26591 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
26592 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
26593 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
26595 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
26596 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
26597 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
26599 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
26600 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
26602 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
26605 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
26606 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
26607 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
26608 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
26609 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26612 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
26613 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26614 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26615 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26617 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
26618 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26620 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26621 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26622 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26623 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26624 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26625 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26626 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26627 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26631 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26632 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26637 @subsection Emacsen
26643 This version of Gnus should work on:
26651 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26655 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26656 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26657 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26658 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26660 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
26663 @node Gnus Development
26664 @subsection Gnus Development
26666 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26667 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
26668 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26669 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26670 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26671 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26672 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26673 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
26675 After futzing around for 10-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26676 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26677 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
26678 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26679 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
26680 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
26681 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
26685 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26686 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26687 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26688 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26689 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26691 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26692 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26693 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26694 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26695 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26696 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26697 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26698 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26699 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26700 can't be assumed to do so.
26702 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
26703 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
26704 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
26707 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26708 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26709 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26710 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26711 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26714 @subsection Contributors
26715 @cindex contributors
26717 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26718 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26719 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26720 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26721 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26722 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26723 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26724 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26725 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26726 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26728 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26734 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26737 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el,
26738 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26739 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26740 functionality and stuff.
26743 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26744 well as numerous other things).
26747 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26750 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26753 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26756 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26759 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26760 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26763 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26766 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26769 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26772 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26775 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
26778 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26781 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26782 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26785 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26788 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26791 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26794 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26798 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26801 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26804 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26807 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26808 well as autoconf support.
26812 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26813 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26815 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26830 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26832 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26836 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26846 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26861 Massimo Campostrini,
26866 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26867 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26871 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26874 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26880 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26885 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26889 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26897 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26899 Michelangelo Grigni,
26903 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26905 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26907 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26915 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26916 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26917 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26919 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26929 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26930 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26932 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26933 Thor Kristoffersen,
26936 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26954 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26955 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26962 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26967 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26971 John McClary Prevost,
26977 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26982 Christian von Roques,
26985 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26992 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26994 Randal L. Schwartz,
27008 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
27013 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
27033 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
27034 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
27035 (550kB and counting).
27037 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
27040 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
27041 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
27045 @subsection New Features
27046 @cindex new features
27049 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
27050 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
27051 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
27052 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
27053 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
27054 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
27055 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
27058 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
27059 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
27060 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
27063 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
27065 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
27070 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
27071 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
27074 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
27075 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
27078 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
27081 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
27082 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
27083 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
27086 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
27087 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
27088 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
27089 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27092 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
27093 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27096 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
27097 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
27098 (@pxref{The Active File}).
27101 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
27102 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
27105 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
27106 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
27107 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27110 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
27111 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
27112 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
27115 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
27116 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
27119 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
27120 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
27123 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
27124 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27127 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
27128 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
27131 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
27132 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27135 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
27138 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
27139 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
27142 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
27143 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
27146 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
27147 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
27150 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
27153 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
27154 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27157 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
27161 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
27165 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
27166 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
27171 @node September Gnus
27172 @subsubsection September Gnus
27176 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
27180 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
27185 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
27186 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
27190 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
27191 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
27195 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
27199 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
27200 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
27203 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
27207 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
27210 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
27213 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
27216 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
27220 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
27221 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
27224 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
27228 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
27232 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
27236 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
27240 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
27243 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
27244 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
27247 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
27251 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
27252 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
27255 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
27258 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
27259 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
27260 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27263 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets.
27266 The Gnus cache is much faster.
27269 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
27273 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
27274 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
27277 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
27278 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
27281 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
27282 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
27285 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
27286 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
27287 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
27290 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
27291 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
27294 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
27297 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27300 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
27303 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
27306 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
27307 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
27310 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
27314 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
27317 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
27322 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27325 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
27329 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
27332 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
27335 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
27336 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27339 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
27340 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
27344 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
27345 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
27348 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
27352 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
27353 buffer to allow easier treatment.
27356 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
27359 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
27363 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
27367 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
27368 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
27371 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
27375 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
27376 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27379 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
27380 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27383 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
27387 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27390 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
27393 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
27399 @subsubsection Red Gnus
27401 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
27405 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
27412 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
27415 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
27416 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27419 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
27420 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
27424 Article washing status can be displayed in the
27425 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
27428 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
27431 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
27432 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
27435 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
27439 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
27440 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
27444 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
27445 Server Internals}).
27448 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
27452 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
27455 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
27456 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
27459 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
27460 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
27461 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
27464 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
27465 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27468 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
27469 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
27472 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
27476 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
27477 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27480 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
27481 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27484 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
27488 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
27491 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
27495 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
27496 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27499 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
27500 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27503 A new command for reading collections of documents
27504 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
27505 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
27508 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
27512 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
27513 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
27516 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
27517 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
27518 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
27521 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
27522 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
27526 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
27530 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
27534 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
27539 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
27543 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
27547 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
27548 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
27551 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
27557 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
27559 New features in Gnus 5.6:
27564 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
27565 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
27566 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
27569 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
27570 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
27571 group, which is created automatically.
27574 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
27578 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
27581 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
27582 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
27585 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
27589 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
27592 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
27593 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
27596 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
27599 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
27603 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27604 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27607 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27608 control over simplification.
27611 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27614 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27618 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27621 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27624 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27625 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27626 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27629 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27630 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27633 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27637 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27638 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27641 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27642 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27645 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27649 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27652 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27655 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27656 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27659 A new function for citing in Message has been
27660 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27663 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27666 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27670 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27671 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27674 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27675 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27678 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27681 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27685 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27686 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27688 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27693 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27694 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27696 If you used procmail like in
27699 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27700 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27701 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27702 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27705 this now has changed to
27709 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27713 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27716 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27717 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27720 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27721 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27724 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27725 called to position point.
27728 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27729 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27732 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27733 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27736 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27737 subtly different manner.
27740 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27741 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27742 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27745 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27750 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27753 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27757 @item Installation changes
27758 @c ***********************
27762 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27764 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27765 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27766 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27767 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27768 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27769 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27770 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27771 isn't save in general.
27774 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27775 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27776 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27777 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27778 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27779 remove-installed-shadows}.
27782 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27784 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27785 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27786 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
27787 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27788 the second parameter.
27790 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27791 automatic recognition of XEmacs and Emacs, generates
27792 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27793 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27794 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27795 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27796 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27797 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27798 cycle used under Unix systems.
27800 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27801 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27804 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27806 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27807 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27810 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27811 @c the repository. We should find a better place for this item.
27813 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27815 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27816 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27817 lisp directory into load-path.
27819 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27820 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27824 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27825 @c *****************************************
27830 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27831 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27834 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27836 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27837 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS.
27840 Improved anti-spam features.
27842 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27843 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27844 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27845 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27846 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27847 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27850 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27852 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27853 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27854 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27855 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27856 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27860 @item Changes in group mode
27861 @c ************************
27866 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27870 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27872 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27873 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27876 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27878 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27879 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27880 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27881 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27882 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27885 (setq gnus-parameters
27887 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27888 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27889 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27890 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27894 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27896 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27897 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27898 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27899 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27900 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27901 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27902 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27903 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27904 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27907 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27909 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27910 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27911 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27914 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27915 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27917 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27918 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27919 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27921 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27925 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
27926 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
27927 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
27931 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27932 @c **************************************
27937 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27938 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27939 region if the region is active.
27942 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27943 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27948 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27949 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27950 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27951 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27954 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27959 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27960 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27962 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27963 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27967 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27968 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27971 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27974 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27975 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27978 Warn about email replies to news
27980 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27981 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27985 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27986 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27990 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27991 opposed to old but unread messages).
27994 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27995 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27998 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27999 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
28002 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
28003 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
28006 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
28008 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
28009 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
28010 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
28011 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
28014 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
28015 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
28016 Outlook (Express) articles.
28019 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
28021 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
28022 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
28023 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
28024 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
28026 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
28027 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
28028 message cited below.
28031 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
28034 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
28038 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
28041 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
28042 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
28045 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
28048 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
28050 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
28051 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
28052 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
28053 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
28054 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
28058 Deleting of attachments.
28060 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
28061 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
28062 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
28063 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
28064 that support editing.
28067 @code{gnus-default-charset}
28069 The default value is determined from the
28070 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
28071 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
28072 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
28075 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
28077 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
28078 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
28079 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
28082 Extended format specs.
28084 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
28085 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
28086 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
28087 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
28088 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
28089 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
28092 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
28093 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
28095 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
28096 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
28097 out other articles.
28100 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
28102 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
28103 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
28104 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
28105 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
28108 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
28112 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
28113 @c ****************************************************
28120 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
28121 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
28122 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
28125 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
28126 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
28129 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
28130 Gcc articles as read.
28133 Externalizing of attachments
28135 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
28136 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
28137 local files as external parts.
28140 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
28141 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
28144 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
28146 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
28147 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
28148 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
28149 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
28150 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
28151 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
28152 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
28153 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
28154 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
28157 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
28159 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
28160 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
28161 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
28162 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
28163 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
28164 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
28167 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
28168 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
28172 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
28175 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
28177 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
28178 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
28179 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
28180 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
28181 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
28182 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
28183 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
28184 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
28185 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
28186 was inserted directly.
28189 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
28191 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
28192 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
28193 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
28194 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
28195 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
28198 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
28200 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
28202 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
28203 'bbdb-complete-name)
28207 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
28209 Add a new format of match like
28211 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
28212 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28214 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
28216 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
28217 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28221 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
28223 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
28224 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
28225 need add those two headers too.
28228 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
28229 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
28230 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
28234 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
28235 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
28236 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
28237 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
28238 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
28241 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
28243 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
28246 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
28248 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
28252 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
28254 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
28255 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
28256 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
28257 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
28258 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
28259 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
28260 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
28261 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
28264 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
28265 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
28267 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
28268 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
28269 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
28270 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
28273 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
28276 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
28277 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
28280 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
28283 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
28284 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
28285 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
28286 invalidate the digital signature.
28289 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
28290 decompressed when activated.
28291 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
28294 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
28296 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
28297 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
28298 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
28299 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
28300 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
28303 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
28304 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
28305 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
28306 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
28308 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
28309 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
28310 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
28311 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
28315 @item Changes in back ends
28316 @c ***********************
28320 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
28323 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
28326 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
28328 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
28331 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
28333 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
28334 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
28335 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
28336 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
28337 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
28338 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
28339 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
28340 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
28341 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
28342 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
28343 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
28353 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
28354 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
28357 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
28358 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
28359 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
28360 message, Message Manual}).
28363 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
28364 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
28365 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
28366 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
28368 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
28369 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
28370 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
28375 @item Miscellaneous changes
28376 @c ************************
28383 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
28384 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
28385 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
28386 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
28387 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
28388 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
28389 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
28390 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
28391 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
28392 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
28393 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
28394 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
28395 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
28396 is not needed any more.
28399 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
28401 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
28402 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
28403 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
28408 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
28409 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
28410 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
28414 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
28417 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
28419 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
28426 @subsubsection No Gnus
28429 New features in No Gnus:
28430 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
28432 @include gnus-news.texi
28438 @section The Manual
28442 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
28443 either @code{texi2dvi}
28445 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
28446 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
28448 to get what you hold in your hands now.
28450 The following conventions have been used:
28455 This is a @samp{string}
28458 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
28461 This is a @file{file}
28464 This is a @code{symbol}
28468 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
28472 (setq flargnoze "yes")
28475 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
28478 (setq flumphel 'yes)
28481 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
28482 ever get them confused.
28486 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
28487 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
28488 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
28489 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
28490 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
28491 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
28492 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
28498 @node On Writing Manuals
28499 @section On Writing Manuals
28501 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
28502 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
28503 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
28504 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
28505 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
28506 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
28509 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
28510 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
28511 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
28514 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
28515 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
28520 @section Terminology
28522 @cindex terminology
28527 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
28528 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
28529 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
28530 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
28531 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
28535 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
28536 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
28537 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
28538 not posting, and replying is not following up.
28542 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
28546 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
28551 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
28552 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
28553 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
28554 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
28555 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
28556 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
28557 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
28558 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
28559 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
28562 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
28563 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
28564 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
28565 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
28566 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
28567 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
28569 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
28570 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
28571 access the articles.
28573 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
28574 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
28575 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
28580 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
28581 default, way of getting news.
28585 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
28586 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
28591 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
28592 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
28596 A message that has been posted as news.
28599 @cindex mail message
28600 A message that has been mailed.
28604 A mail message or news article
28608 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
28613 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28618 A line from the head of an article.
28622 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28623 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28625 @item @acronym{NOV}
28626 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28627 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
28628 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
28629 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
28630 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
28631 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
28633 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28634 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28635 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28636 normal @sc{head} format.
28638 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
28639 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
28640 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
28641 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
28642 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
28645 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
28646 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
28647 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
28648 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
28649 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
28650 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
28651 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
28655 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
28656 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28657 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
28658 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28659 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28660 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28662 @item killed groups
28663 @cindex killed groups
28664 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28665 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28667 @item zombie groups
28668 @cindex zombie groups
28669 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28672 @cindex active file
28673 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28674 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28675 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28678 @cindex bogus groups
28679 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28680 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28681 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28684 @cindex activating groups
28685 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28686 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28687 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28691 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28692 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28693 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28697 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28699 @item select method
28700 @cindex select method
28701 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28704 @item virtual server
28705 @cindex virtual server
28706 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28707 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28708 whole is a virtual server.
28712 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28713 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28716 @item ephemeral groups
28717 @cindex ephemeral groups
28718 @cindex temporary groups
28719 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28720 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28721 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28724 @cindex solid groups
28725 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28726 group buffer are solid groups.
28728 @item sparse articles
28729 @cindex sparse articles
28730 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28731 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28735 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28736 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28740 @cindex thread root
28741 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28742 articles in the thread.
28746 An article that has responses.
28750 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28754 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28755 specified by RFC 1153.
28758 @cindex splitting, terminology
28759 @cindex mail sorting
28760 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28761 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28762 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28768 @node Customization
28769 @section Customization
28770 @cindex general customization
28772 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28773 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28774 for some quite common situations.
28777 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28778 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28779 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28780 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28784 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28785 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
28787 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28788 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28789 Gnus has to get from the server.
28793 @item gnus-read-active-file
28794 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28795 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28796 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28797 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28798 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28800 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28801 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
28802 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
28803 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
28804 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
28805 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
28806 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
28807 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
28808 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
28809 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
28810 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
28812 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
28813 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
28814 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
28815 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, and @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}. Note that a
28816 non-@code{nil} value for @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those
28821 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28822 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28824 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28825 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28826 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28830 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28831 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28832 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28833 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28834 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28836 @item gnus-visible-headers
28837 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28838 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28839 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28840 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28842 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28844 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28845 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28846 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28849 @item gnus-use-full-window
28850 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28851 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28852 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28853 want to read them anyway.
28855 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28856 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28860 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28861 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28862 lines, which might save some time.
28866 @node Little Disk Space
28867 @subsection Little Disk Space
28870 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28871 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28875 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28876 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28877 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28878 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28881 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28882 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28883 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28884 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28887 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28888 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28889 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28890 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28891 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28897 @subsection Slow Machine
28898 @cindex slow machine
28900 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28901 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28903 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28904 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28906 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28907 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28908 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
28912 @node Troubleshooting
28913 @section Troubleshooting
28914 @cindex troubleshooting
28916 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28924 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28927 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28928 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28932 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28934 @samp{No Gnus v0.18} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
28936 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
28937 files lying around. Delete these.
28940 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28941 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28944 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28945 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28946 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28947 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28948 something like that.
28951 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28954 @cindex reporting bugs
28956 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28958 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28959 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28960 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28961 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28963 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28964 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28965 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28966 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28969 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28970 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28971 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28972 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28973 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28974 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28976 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28977 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28978 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28982 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28983 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28986 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28987 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28988 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28989 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28990 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28991 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28992 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28993 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28994 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28995 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28996 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28997 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28998 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28999 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
29004 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
29005 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
29006 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
29007 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
29008 helps isolating the real problem areas).
29010 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
29011 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
29012 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
29013 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
29014 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
29015 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
29016 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
29017 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
29018 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
29019 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
29020 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
29021 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
29022 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
29025 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
29026 @cindex ding mailing list
29027 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
29028 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
29029 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
29030 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
29034 @node Gnus Reference Guide
29035 @section Gnus Reference Guide
29037 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
29038 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
29039 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
29040 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
29043 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
29044 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
29045 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
29046 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
29047 and general methods of operation.
29050 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
29051 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
29052 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
29053 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
29054 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
29055 * Group Info:: The group info format.
29056 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
29057 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
29058 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
29062 @node Gnus Utility Functions
29063 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
29064 @cindex Gnus utility functions
29065 @cindex utility functions
29067 @cindex internal variables
29069 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
29070 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
29071 Below is a list of the most common ones.
29075 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
29076 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
29077 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
29079 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
29080 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
29081 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
29083 @item gnus-group-real-name
29084 @findex gnus-group-real-name
29085 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
29088 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
29089 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
29090 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
29091 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
29093 @item gnus-get-info
29094 @findex gnus-get-info
29095 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
29097 @item gnus-group-unread
29098 @findex gnus-group-unread
29099 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
29103 @findex gnus-active
29104 The active entry for @var{group}.
29106 @item gnus-set-active
29107 @findex gnus-set-active
29108 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
29110 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29111 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29112 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
29115 @item gnus-continuum-version
29116 @findex gnus-continuum-version
29117 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
29118 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
29121 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
29122 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
29123 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
29125 @item gnus-news-group-p
29126 @findex gnus-news-group-p
29127 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
29129 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29130 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29131 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
29133 @item gnus-server-to-method
29134 @findex gnus-server-to-method
29135 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
29137 @item gnus-server-equal
29138 @findex gnus-server-equal
29139 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
29141 @item gnus-group-native-p
29142 @findex gnus-group-native-p
29143 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
29145 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
29146 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
29147 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
29149 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
29150 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
29151 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
29153 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
29154 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
29155 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
29156 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
29158 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
29159 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
29160 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
29162 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
29163 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
29164 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
29166 @item gnus-check-backend-function
29167 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
29168 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
29169 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
29172 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
29176 @item gnus-read-method
29177 @findex gnus-read-method
29178 Prompts the user for a select method.
29183 @node Back End Interface
29184 @subsection Back End Interface
29186 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
29187 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
29188 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
29189 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
29190 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
29191 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
29193 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
29194 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
29195 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
29196 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
29197 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
29198 been opened, the function should fail.
29200 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
29201 name. Take this example:
29205 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
29206 (nntp-port-number 4324))
29209 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
29210 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
29212 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
29213 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
29214 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
29216 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
29217 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
29218 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
29220 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
29221 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
29222 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
29223 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
29224 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
29225 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
29228 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
29229 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
29230 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
29231 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
29234 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
29235 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
29236 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
29237 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
29238 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
29239 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
29240 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
29241 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
29242 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
29243 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
29245 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
29246 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
29247 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
29248 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
29249 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
29250 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
29251 of numbers as long as possible.
29253 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
29254 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
29255 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
29257 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
29260 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
29263 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
29264 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
29265 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
29266 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
29267 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
29268 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
29272 @node Required Back End Functions
29273 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
29277 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
29279 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
29280 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
29281 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
29282 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
29284 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
29285 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
29286 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
29287 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
29289 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
29290 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
29291 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
29292 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
29293 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
29294 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
29295 number, do maximum fetches.
29297 Here's an example HEAD:
29300 221 1056 Article retrieved.
29301 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
29302 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
29303 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
29304 Subject: Re: Something very droll
29305 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
29306 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
29308 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
29309 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
29310 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
29314 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
29315 these in the data buffer.
29317 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
29321 head = error / valid-head
29322 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
29323 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
29324 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
29325 header = <text> eol
29329 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
29331 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
29332 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
29336 nov-buffer = *nov-line
29337 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
29338 field = <text except TAB>
29341 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
29345 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
29347 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
29348 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
29350 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
29351 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
29352 server. In fact, it should do so.
29354 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
29355 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
29358 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
29360 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
29361 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
29364 There should be no data returned.
29367 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
29369 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
29370 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
29371 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
29372 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
29374 There should be no data returned.
29377 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
29379 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
29380 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
29381 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
29382 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
29384 There should be no data returned.
29387 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
29389 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
29391 There should be no data returned.
29394 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
29396 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
29397 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
29398 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
29399 it would be nice if that were possible.
29401 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
29402 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
29403 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
29404 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
29405 into its article buffer.
29407 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
29408 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
29409 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
29410 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
29411 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
29412 on successful article retrieval.
29415 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST INFO)
29417 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
29418 making @var{group} the current group.
29420 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
29423 If @var{info}, it allows the backend to update the group info
29426 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
29429 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
29432 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
29433 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
29434 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
29435 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
29436 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
29437 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
29438 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
29439 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
29440 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
29444 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
29445 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
29446 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
29450 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29452 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
29453 a no-op on most back ends.
29455 There should be no data returned.
29458 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
29460 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
29463 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
29466 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
29467 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
29470 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
29471 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
29472 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
29473 and the highest as 0.
29476 active-file = *active-line
29477 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
29479 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
29482 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
29483 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
29484 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
29487 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
29489 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
29490 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
29491 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
29492 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
29493 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
29494 clear if the posting could not be completed.
29496 There should be no result data from this function.
29501 @node Optional Back End Functions
29502 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
29506 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
29508 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
29509 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
29510 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
29512 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
29513 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
29514 former is in the same format as the data from
29515 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
29516 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
29519 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
29523 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
29525 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
29526 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
29527 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
29528 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
29529 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
29530 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
29531 the network resources).
29533 There should be no result data from this function.
29536 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
29538 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
29539 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
29540 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
29541 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
29542 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
29543 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
29544 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
29545 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
29547 There should be no result data from this function.
29550 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
29552 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
29553 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
29554 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
29555 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
29556 propagate the mark information to the server.
29558 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
29561 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
29564 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
29565 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
29566 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
29567 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
29568 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
29569 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
29570 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
29571 possible, not limit itself to these.
29573 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
29574 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
29575 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
29576 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
29578 An example action list:
29581 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
29582 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
29583 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
29586 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
29587 mark on (currently not used for anything).
29589 There should be no result data from this function.
29591 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
29593 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
29594 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
29595 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
29596 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
29597 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
29599 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
29600 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
29601 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
29604 There should be no result data from this function.
29607 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
29609 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
29610 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
29611 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
29612 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
29613 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
29614 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
29615 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
29616 local if that's practical.
29618 There should be no result data from this function.
29621 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
29623 The result data from this function should be a description of
29627 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
29629 description = <text>
29632 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
29634 The result data from this function should be the description of all
29635 groups available on the server.
29638 description-buffer = *description-line
29642 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
29644 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
29645 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
29646 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
29647 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
29648 in the active buffer format.
29650 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
29651 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
29652 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
29653 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
29654 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29655 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29656 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29659 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29661 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29663 There should be no return data.
29666 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29668 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29669 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29670 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29671 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29672 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29675 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29678 There should be no result data returned.
29681 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29683 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29684 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29686 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29687 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29688 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29689 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29690 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29691 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29693 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29694 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29697 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29698 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29700 There should be no data returned.
29703 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29705 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29706 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29707 this function in short order.
29709 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29710 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29712 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29713 article for that group.
29715 There should be no data returned.
29718 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29720 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29721 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29723 There should be no data returned.
29726 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29728 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29729 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29730 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29732 There should be no data returned.
29735 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29737 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29738 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29740 There should be no data returned.
29745 @node Error Messaging
29746 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29748 @findex nnheader-report
29749 @findex nnheader-get-report
29750 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29751 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29752 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29753 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29754 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29755 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29758 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29760 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29763 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29764 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29765 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29766 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29768 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29769 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29770 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29773 @node Writing New Back Ends
29774 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29776 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29777 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29778 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29779 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29780 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29783 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29784 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29785 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29787 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29788 package called @code{nnoo}.
29790 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29791 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29797 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29798 parameters. For instance:
29801 (nnoo-declare nndir
29805 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29806 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29809 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29810 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29811 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29813 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29814 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29815 a function in those back ends.
29818 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29819 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29820 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29823 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29824 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29825 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29827 @item nnoo-define-basics
29828 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29832 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29836 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29837 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29838 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29840 @item nnoo-map-functions
29841 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29842 functions from the parent back ends.
29845 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29846 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29847 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29850 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29851 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29852 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29853 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29856 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29857 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29858 haven't already been defined.
29864 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29868 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29869 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29870 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29875 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29878 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29879 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29883 (require 'nnheader)
29887 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29889 (nnoo-declare nndir
29892 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29893 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29894 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29896 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29897 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29900 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29902 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29903 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29904 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29906 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29907 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29909 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29911 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29913 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29914 (setq nndir-directory
29915 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29917 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29918 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29919 (push `(nndir-current-group
29920 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29921 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29923 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29924 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29926 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29928 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29929 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29930 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29931 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29932 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29936 nnmh-status-message
29938 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29944 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29945 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29947 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29948 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29949 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29950 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29951 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29953 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29954 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29959 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29962 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29964 The abilities can be:
29968 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29970 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29972 This back end supports both mail and news.
29974 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29977 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29978 articles and groups.
29980 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29981 true for almost all back ends.
29982 @item prompt-address
29983 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29984 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29985 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29989 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29990 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29992 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29993 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29994 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29995 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29998 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29999 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
30000 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
30003 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
30004 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
30007 This function takes four parameters.
30011 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
30014 @item exit-function
30015 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
30017 @item temp-directory
30018 Where the temporary files should be stored.
30021 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
30022 performed for one group only.
30025 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
30026 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
30027 find the article number assigned to this article.
30029 The function also uses the following variables:
30030 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
30031 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
30032 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
30033 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
30037 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
30038 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
30042 @node Score File Syntax
30043 @subsection Score File Syntax
30045 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
30046 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
30047 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
30049 Here's a typical score file:
30053 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
30060 BNF definition of a score file:
30063 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
30064 element = rule / atom
30065 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
30066 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
30067 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
30068 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
30070 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
30071 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
30072 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
30073 date-header = "date"
30074 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30075 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30076 score = "nil" / <integer>
30077 date = "nil" / <natural number>
30078 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
30079 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
30080 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
30081 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
30082 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30083 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30084 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
30085 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30086 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
30087 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
30088 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
30089 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
30090 exclude-files / read-only / touched
30091 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
30092 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
30093 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
30094 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
30095 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
30096 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
30097 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
30098 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
30099 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
30100 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
30101 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
30102 eval = "eval" space <form>
30103 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
30106 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
30109 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
30110 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
30111 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
30112 one looong line, then that's ok.
30114 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
30115 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
30119 @subsection Headers
30121 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
30122 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
30123 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
30124 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
30126 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
30127 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
30128 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
30129 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
30130 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
30131 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
30132 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
30134 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
30135 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
30136 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
30137 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
30138 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
30140 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
30141 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
30147 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
30148 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
30150 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
30151 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
30152 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
30153 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
30155 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
30159 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
30162 is transformed into
30165 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
30168 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
30169 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
30172 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
30175 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
30176 is slightly tricky:
30179 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
30185 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
30188 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
30194 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
30201 and is equal to the previous range.
30203 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
30204 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
30205 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
30209 range = simple-range / normal-range
30210 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
30211 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
30212 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
30213 number *[ " " contents ]
30216 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
30217 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
30218 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
30219 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
30220 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
30225 @subsection Group Info
30227 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
30228 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
30229 describes the group.
30231 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
30232 second is a more complex one:
30235 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
30237 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
30238 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
30240 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
30243 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
30244 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
30245 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
30246 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
30247 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
30248 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
30249 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
30250 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
30251 this section is about.
30253 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
30254 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
30255 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
30257 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
30260 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
30261 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
30262 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30263 group = quote <string> quote
30264 ralevel = rank / level
30265 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30266 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
30267 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30269 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
30270 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
30271 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
30272 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
30275 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
30276 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
30279 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
30280 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
30283 @item gnus-info-group
30284 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
30285 @findex gnus-info-group
30286 @findex gnus-info-set-group
30287 Get/set the group name.
30289 @item gnus-info-rank
30290 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
30291 @findex gnus-info-rank
30292 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
30293 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
30295 @item gnus-info-level
30296 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
30297 @findex gnus-info-level
30298 @findex gnus-info-set-level
30299 Get/set the group level.
30301 @item gnus-info-score
30302 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
30303 @findex gnus-info-score
30304 @findex gnus-info-set-score
30305 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
30307 @item gnus-info-read
30308 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
30309 @findex gnus-info-read
30310 @findex gnus-info-set-read
30311 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
30313 @item gnus-info-marks
30314 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
30315 @findex gnus-info-marks
30316 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
30317 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
30319 @item gnus-info-method
30320 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
30321 @findex gnus-info-method
30322 @findex gnus-info-set-method
30323 Get/set the group select method.
30325 @item gnus-info-params
30326 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
30327 @findex gnus-info-params
30328 @findex gnus-info-set-params
30329 Get/set the group parameters.
30332 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
30333 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
30335 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
30336 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
30337 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
30338 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
30341 @node Extended Interactive
30342 @subsection Extended Interactive
30343 @cindex interactive
30344 @findex gnus-interactive
30346 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
30347 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
30348 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
30351 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
30352 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
30357 The best thing to do would have been to implement
30358 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
30359 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
30360 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
30361 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
30362 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
30363 @code{interactive}.
30365 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
30370 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
30371 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
30375 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
30376 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
30377 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
30380 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
30384 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
30388 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
30394 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
30395 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
30399 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
30400 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
30401 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
30403 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
30404 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
30405 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
30406 Gnus, that's very useful.
30408 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
30409 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
30410 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
30411 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
30412 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
30413 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
30414 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
30415 following function:
30418 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
30422 (,function ,@@args))
30426 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
30427 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
30428 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
30431 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
30432 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
30433 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
30435 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
30436 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
30437 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
30440 @node Various File Formats
30441 @subsection Various File Formats
30444 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
30445 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
30449 @node Active File Format
30450 @subsubsection Active File Format
30452 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
30453 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
30456 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
30459 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
30460 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
30461 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
30462 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
30463 no.general 1000 900 y
30466 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
30469 active = *group-line
30470 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
30471 group = <non-white-space string>
30473 high-number = <non-negative integer>
30474 low-number = <positive integer>
30475 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
30478 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
30479 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
30482 @node Newsgroups File Format
30483 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
30485 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
30486 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
30487 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
30490 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
30491 Here's the definition:
30495 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
30496 group = <non-white-space string>
30498 description = <string>
30503 @node Emacs for Heathens
30504 @section Emacs for Heathens
30506 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
30507 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
30508 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
30509 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
30510 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
30511 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
30512 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
30516 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
30517 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
30522 @subsection Keystrokes
30526 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
30529 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
30532 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
30533 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
30534 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
30535 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
30536 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
30537 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
30539 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
30540 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
30541 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
30542 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
30543 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
30544 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
30545 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
30547 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
30548 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
30549 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
30550 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
30551 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
30552 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
30553 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
30555 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
30556 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
30557 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
30558 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
30559 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
30565 @subsection Emacs Lisp
30567 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
30568 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
30569 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
30570 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
30572 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
30573 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
30574 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
30575 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
30576 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
30577 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
30578 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
30579 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
30580 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
30581 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
30583 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
30584 write the following:
30587 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
30590 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
30591 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
30592 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
30593 change how Gnus works.
30595 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
30596 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
30597 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
30598 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
30599 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
30601 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
30602 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
30603 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
30607 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
30611 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
30614 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server-file} to
30615 @samp{/etc/nntpserver}'', that means:
30618 (setq gnus-nntp-server-file "/etc/nntpserver")
30621 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
30622 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
30625 @include gnus-faq.texi
30627 @node GNU Free Documentation License
30628 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
30629 @include doclicense.texi
30647 @c Local Variables:
30649 @c coding: iso-8859-1