10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
293 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
297 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
298 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
299 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
300 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
301 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
302 License'' in the Emacs manual.
304 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
305 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
306 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
308 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
309 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
310 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
311 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
319 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
321 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
322 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
325 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
326 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
327 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
328 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
329 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
330 License'' in the Emacs manual.
332 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
333 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
334 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
336 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
337 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
338 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
339 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
350 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
353 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
355 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
356 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
357 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
358 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
359 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
360 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
361 License'' in the Emacs manual.
363 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
364 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
365 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
367 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
368 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
369 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
370 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
379 @top The Gnus Newsreader
383 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
384 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
385 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
388 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.11.
399 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
400 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
402 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
403 being accused of plagiarism:
405 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
406 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
407 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
408 can even read news with it!
410 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
411 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
412 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
413 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
414 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
420 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
421 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
422 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
423 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
424 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
425 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
426 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
427 * Various:: General purpose settings.
428 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
429 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
430 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
431 * Key Index:: Key Index.
433 Other related manuals
435 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
436 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
437 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
438 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
441 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
445 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
446 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
447 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
448 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
449 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
450 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
451 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
452 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
453 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
454 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
455 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
459 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
460 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
461 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
465 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
466 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
467 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
468 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
469 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
470 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
471 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
472 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
473 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
474 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
475 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
476 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
477 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
478 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
479 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
480 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
481 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
485 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
486 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
487 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
491 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
492 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
493 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
494 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
495 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
499 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
500 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
501 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
502 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
503 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
507 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
508 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
509 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
510 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
511 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
512 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
513 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
514 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
515 * Threading:: How threads are made.
516 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
517 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
518 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
519 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
520 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
521 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
522 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
523 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
524 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
525 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
526 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
527 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
528 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
529 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
530 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
531 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
532 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
533 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
534 or reselecting the current group.
535 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
536 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
537 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
538 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
540 Summary Buffer Format
542 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
543 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
544 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
545 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
549 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
550 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
552 Reply, Followup and Post
554 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
555 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
556 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
557 * Canceling and Superseding::
561 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
562 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
563 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
565 * Generic Marking Commands::
566 * Setting Process Marks::
570 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
571 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
572 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
576 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
577 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
579 Customizing Threading
581 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
582 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
583 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
584 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
588 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
589 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
590 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
591 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
592 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
593 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
597 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
598 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
599 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
603 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
604 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
605 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
606 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
607 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
608 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
609 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
610 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
611 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
612 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
614 Alternative Approaches
616 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
617 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
619 Various Summary Stuff
621 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
622 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
623 * Summary Generation Commands::
624 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
628 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
629 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
630 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
631 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
632 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
636 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
637 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
638 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
639 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
640 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
641 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
642 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
643 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
647 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
648 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
649 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
650 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
651 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
652 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
653 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
654 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
658 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
659 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
660 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
661 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
662 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
663 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
664 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
668 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
669 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
673 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
674 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
675 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
679 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
680 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
681 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
682 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
683 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
684 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
685 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
686 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
687 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
688 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
689 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
690 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
691 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
695 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
696 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
697 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
699 Choosing a Mail Back End
701 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
702 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
703 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
704 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
705 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
706 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
711 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
712 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
713 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
714 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
715 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
716 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
720 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
721 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
722 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
723 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
724 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
728 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
729 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
730 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
731 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
732 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
736 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
740 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
741 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
742 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
746 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
747 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
751 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
752 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
753 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
754 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
755 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
756 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
757 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
758 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
759 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
760 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
761 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
765 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
766 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
767 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
771 * Group Agent Commands::
772 * Summary Agent Commands::
773 * Server Agent Commands::
777 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
778 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
779 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
780 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
781 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
782 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
783 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
784 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
785 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
786 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
787 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
788 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
789 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
790 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
791 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
792 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
793 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
797 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
798 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
799 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
800 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
804 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
805 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
806 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
810 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
811 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
812 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
813 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
814 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
815 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
816 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
817 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
818 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
819 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
820 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
821 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
822 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
823 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
824 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
825 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
826 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
827 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
828 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
832 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
833 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
834 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
835 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
836 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
837 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
838 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
839 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
843 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
844 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
845 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
846 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
847 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
851 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
852 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
853 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
854 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
855 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
859 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
860 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
861 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
862 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
863 * Filtering Spam Using spam.el::
864 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)::
868 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
869 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
870 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
871 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
872 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
873 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
874 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
875 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
876 * Frequently Asked Questions::
880 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
881 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
882 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
883 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
884 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
885 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
886 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
887 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
888 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
892 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
893 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
894 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
895 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
896 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
900 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
901 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
902 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
903 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
907 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
908 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
909 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
910 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
911 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
912 * Group Info:: The group info format.
913 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
914 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
915 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
919 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
920 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
921 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
922 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
923 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
924 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
928 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
929 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
933 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
934 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
940 @chapter Starting Gnus
945 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
946 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
949 @findex gnus-other-frame
950 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
951 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
952 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
954 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
955 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
956 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
958 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
959 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
962 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
963 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
964 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
965 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
966 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
967 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
968 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
969 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
970 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
971 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
972 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
976 @node Finding the News
977 @section Finding the News
980 @vindex gnus-select-method
982 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
983 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
984 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
985 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
988 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
989 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
992 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
995 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
998 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1001 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1002 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1003 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1005 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1007 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1008 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1009 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1010 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1011 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1012 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1014 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1015 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1016 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1017 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1019 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1020 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1021 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1022 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1023 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1024 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1025 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1026 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1027 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1030 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1032 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1033 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1034 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1035 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1036 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1037 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1039 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1041 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1042 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1043 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1044 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1045 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1046 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1049 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1050 you would typically set this variable to
1053 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1057 @node The First Time
1058 @section The First Time
1059 @cindex first time usage
1061 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1062 be subscribed by default.
1064 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1065 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1066 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1067 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1070 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1071 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1072 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1074 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1075 help you with most common problems.
1077 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1078 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1082 @node The Server is Down
1083 @section The Server is Down
1084 @cindex server errors
1086 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1087 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1088 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1090 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1091 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1092 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1093 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1094 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1095 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1096 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1098 @findex gnus-no-server
1099 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1101 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1102 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1103 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1104 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1105 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1106 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1107 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1111 @section Slave Gnusae
1114 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1115 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1116 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1117 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1119 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1120 @code{.newsrc} file.
1122 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1123 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1124 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1125 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1126 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1127 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1128 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1130 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1131 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1132 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1133 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1134 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1135 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1136 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1137 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1139 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1140 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1142 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1143 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1144 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1145 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1146 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1148 @node Fetching a Group
1149 @section Fetching a Group
1150 @cindex fetching a group
1152 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1153 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1154 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1155 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1156 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1157 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1163 @cindex subscription
1165 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1166 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1167 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1168 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1169 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1170 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1171 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1172 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1173 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1176 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1177 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1178 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1182 @node Checking New Groups
1183 @subsection Checking New Groups
1185 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1186 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1187 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1188 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1189 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1190 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1191 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1192 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1193 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1194 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1196 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1197 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1198 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1199 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1200 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1201 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1202 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1203 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1204 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1205 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1206 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1208 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1209 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1210 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1211 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1212 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1213 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1216 @node Subscription Methods
1217 @subsection Subscription Methods
1219 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1220 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1221 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1223 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1224 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1226 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1230 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1231 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1232 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1233 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1234 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1236 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1238 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1239 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1243 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1245 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1247 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1248 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1249 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1250 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1251 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1252 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1253 up. Or something like that.
1255 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1256 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1257 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1258 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1259 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1263 Kill all new groups.
1265 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1266 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1267 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1268 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1269 topic parameter that looks like
1275 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1278 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1283 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1284 A closely related variable is
1285 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1286 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1287 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1288 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1291 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1292 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1293 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1294 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1297 @node Filtering New Groups
1298 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1300 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1301 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1302 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1305 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1308 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1309 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1310 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1311 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1312 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1313 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1314 subscribing these groups.
1315 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1316 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1318 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1319 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1320 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1321 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1322 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1323 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1324 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1325 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1327 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1328 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1329 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1330 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1331 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1332 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1333 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1334 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1335 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1336 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1339 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1340 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1343 @node Changing Servers
1344 @section Changing Servers
1345 @cindex changing servers
1347 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1348 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1349 very flaky and you want to use another.
1351 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1352 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1356 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1357 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1358 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1359 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1362 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1363 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1364 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1365 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1367 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1368 @findex gnus-change-server
1369 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1370 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1371 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1372 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1373 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1376 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1377 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1378 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1379 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1381 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1382 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1383 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1384 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1385 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1386 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1388 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1389 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1390 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1391 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1393 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1394 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1395 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1396 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1397 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1398 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1399 cache for all groups).
1403 @section Startup Files
1404 @cindex startup files
1409 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1410 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1412 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1413 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1414 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1415 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1416 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1417 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1418 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1420 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1421 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1422 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1423 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1424 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1425 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1427 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1428 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1429 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1430 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1431 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1432 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1433 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1434 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1435 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1436 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1438 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1439 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1440 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1441 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1442 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1443 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1444 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1445 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1446 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1447 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1448 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1449 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1451 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1452 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1453 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1454 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1456 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1457 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1458 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1459 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1460 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1461 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1462 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1463 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1464 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1465 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1468 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1469 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1471 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1472 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1475 @vindex gnus-init-file
1476 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1477 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1478 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1479 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1480 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1481 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1482 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1483 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1484 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1490 @cindex dribble file
1493 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1494 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1495 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1496 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1497 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1500 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1501 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1504 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1505 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1506 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1508 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1509 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1510 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1511 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1512 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1513 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1515 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1516 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1517 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1520 @node The Active File
1521 @section The Active File
1523 @cindex ignored groups
1525 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1526 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1527 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1529 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1530 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1531 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1532 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1533 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1534 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1535 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1538 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1539 @c if you set it to anything else.
1541 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1543 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1544 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1545 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1547 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1548 you actually subscribe to.
1550 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1551 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1552 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1553 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1555 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1556 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1557 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1558 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1559 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1560 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1562 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1563 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1564 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1567 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1568 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1569 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1570 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1571 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1572 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1574 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1575 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1577 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1578 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1580 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1581 secondary select methods.
1584 @node Startup Variables
1585 @section Startup Variables
1589 @item gnus-load-hook
1590 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1591 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1592 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1593 times you start Gnus.
1595 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1597 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1599 @item gnus-startup-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1601 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1603 @item gnus-started-hook
1604 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1605 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1608 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1609 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1610 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1611 generating the group buffer.
1613 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1614 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1615 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1616 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1617 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1618 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1619 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1620 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1622 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1623 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1624 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1625 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1626 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1627 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1629 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1630 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1631 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1633 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1634 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1635 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1637 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1638 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1639 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1640 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1646 @chapter Group Buffer
1647 @cindex group buffer
1649 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1651 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1652 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1653 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1654 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1655 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1656 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1657 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1658 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1659 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1660 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1661 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1662 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1663 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1664 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1665 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1666 @c human rights at 9...
1669 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1670 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1671 long as Gnus is active.
1675 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1676 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1677 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1678 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1679 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1680 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1681 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1682 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1688 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1689 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1690 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1691 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1692 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1693 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1694 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1695 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1696 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1697 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1698 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1699 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1700 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1701 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1702 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1703 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1704 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1708 @node Group Buffer Format
1709 @section Group Buffer Format
1712 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1713 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1714 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1718 @node Group Line Specification
1719 @subsection Group Line Specification
1720 @cindex group buffer format
1722 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1723 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1725 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1728 25: news.announce.newusers
1729 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1734 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1735 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1736 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1737 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1739 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1740 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1741 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1742 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1743 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1744 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1746 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1748 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1749 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1750 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1751 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1752 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1754 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1755 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1756 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1758 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1763 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1766 Whether the group is subscribed.
1769 Level of subscribedness.
1772 Number of unread articles.
1775 Number of dormant articles.
1778 Number of ticked articles.
1781 Number of read articles.
1784 Number of unseen articles.
1787 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1788 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1790 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1791 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1792 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1793 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1794 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1795 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1796 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1797 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1800 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1803 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1812 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1813 comment element in the group parameters.
1816 Newsgroup description.
1819 @samp{m} if moderated.
1822 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1828 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1834 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1838 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1841 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1842 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1843 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1844 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1845 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1848 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1850 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1854 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1857 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1861 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1862 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1863 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1864 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1865 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1866 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1871 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1872 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1873 group, or a bogus native group.
1876 @node Group Modeline Specification
1877 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1878 @cindex group modeline
1880 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1881 The mode line can be changed by setting
1882 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1883 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1887 The native news server.
1889 The native select method.
1893 @node Group Highlighting
1894 @subsection Group Highlighting
1895 @cindex highlighting
1896 @cindex group highlighting
1898 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1899 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1900 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1901 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1902 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1904 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1908 (cond (window-system
1909 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1910 (defface my-group-face-1
1911 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1912 (defface my-group-face-2
1913 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1914 (defface my-group-face-3
1915 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1916 (defface my-group-face-4
1917 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1918 (defface my-group-face-5
1919 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1921 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1922 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1923 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1924 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1925 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1926 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1929 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1931 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1938 The number of unread articles in the group.
1942 Whether the group is a mail group.
1944 The level of the group.
1946 The score of the group.
1948 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1950 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1951 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1953 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1954 topic being inserted.
1957 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1958 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1959 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1961 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1962 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1963 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1964 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1965 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1968 @node Group Maneuvering
1969 @section Group Maneuvering
1970 @cindex group movement
1972 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1973 expected, hopefully.
1979 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1980 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1981 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1987 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1988 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1989 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1993 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1994 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1998 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1999 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2004 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2005 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2009 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2010 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2011 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2014 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2020 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2021 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2022 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2027 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2028 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2029 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2033 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2034 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2035 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2038 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2039 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2040 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2041 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2045 @node Selecting a Group
2046 @section Selecting a Group
2047 @cindex group selection
2052 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2053 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2054 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2055 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2056 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2057 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2058 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2059 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2060 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2061 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2063 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2064 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2065 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2067 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2068 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2073 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2074 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2075 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2076 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2077 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2081 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2082 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2083 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2084 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2085 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2086 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2087 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2088 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2089 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2090 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2093 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2094 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2095 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2096 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2097 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2100 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2101 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2102 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2103 doing any processing of its contents
2104 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2105 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2106 manner will have no permanent effects.
2110 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2111 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2112 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2113 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2114 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2115 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2116 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2117 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2120 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2121 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2122 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2123 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2124 Which article this is is controlled by the
2125 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2131 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2134 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2137 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2139 @item unseen-or-unread
2140 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2141 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2145 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2149 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2150 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2152 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2153 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2154 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2155 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2159 @node Subscription Commands
2160 @section Subscription Commands
2161 @cindex subscription
2169 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2170 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2171 Toggle subscription to the current group
2172 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2178 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2179 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2180 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2181 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2187 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2188 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2189 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2195 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2196 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2199 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2200 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2201 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2202 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2203 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2209 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2210 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2214 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2215 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2218 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2219 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2220 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2221 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2222 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2223 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2224 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2225 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2226 @file{.newsrc} file.
2230 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2240 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2241 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2242 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2243 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2244 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2245 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2250 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2251 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2252 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2256 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2257 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2258 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2260 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2261 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2262 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2263 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2264 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2265 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2272 @section Group Levels
2276 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2277 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2278 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2279 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2280 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2282 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2288 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2289 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2290 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2291 prompted for a level.
2294 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2295 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2296 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2297 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2298 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2299 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2300 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2301 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2302 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2303 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2304 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2305 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2306 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2307 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2308 reasons of efficiency.
2310 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2311 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2313 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2314 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2315 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2316 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2317 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2318 groups are hidden, in a way.
2320 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2321 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2322 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2323 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2324 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2325 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2327 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2328 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2329 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2330 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2331 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2332 list of killed groups.)
2334 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2335 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2336 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2338 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2339 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2340 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2341 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2342 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2343 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2344 relevant valid ranges.
2346 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2347 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2348 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2349 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2350 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2351 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2354 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2355 one with the best level.
2357 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2358 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2359 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2362 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2363 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2364 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2365 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2368 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2369 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2370 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2371 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2373 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2374 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2375 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2376 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2377 to 5. The default is 6.
2381 @section Group Score
2386 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2387 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2388 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2391 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2392 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2393 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2394 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2395 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2396 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2397 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2398 least significant part.))
2400 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2401 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2402 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2403 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2404 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2405 action after each summary exit, you can add
2406 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2407 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2408 slow things down somewhat.
2411 @node Marking Groups
2412 @section Marking Groups
2413 @cindex marking groups
2415 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2416 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2417 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2418 bidding on those groups.
2420 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2421 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2422 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2430 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2431 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2437 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2438 Remove the mark from the current group
2439 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2443 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2444 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2448 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2449 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2453 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2454 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2458 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2459 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2460 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2463 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2465 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2466 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2467 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2468 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2469 the command to be executed.
2472 @node Foreign Groups
2473 @section Foreign Groups
2474 @cindex foreign groups
2476 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2477 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2478 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2479 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2486 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2487 @cindex making groups
2488 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2489 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2490 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2494 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2495 @cindex renaming groups
2496 Rename the current group to something else
2497 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2498 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2504 @findex gnus-group-customize
2505 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2509 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2510 @cindex renaming groups
2511 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2512 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2516 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2517 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2518 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2522 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2523 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2524 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2528 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2530 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2531 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2536 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2537 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2541 @cindex (ding) archive
2542 @cindex archive group
2543 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2544 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2545 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2546 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2547 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2548 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2549 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2553 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2555 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2556 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2557 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2558 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2562 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2564 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2565 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2566 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2570 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2571 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2573 Make a group based on some file or other
2574 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2575 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2576 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2577 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2578 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2579 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2580 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2581 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2582 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2586 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2587 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2588 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2589 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2593 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2597 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2598 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2599 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2600 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2601 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2602 @xref{Web Searches}.
2604 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2605 to a particular group by using a match string like
2606 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2609 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2610 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2611 This function will delete the current group
2612 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2613 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2614 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2615 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2616 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2620 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2621 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2622 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2626 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2627 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2628 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2631 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2634 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2635 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2636 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2637 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2638 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2639 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2643 @node Group Parameters
2644 @section Group Parameters
2645 @cindex group parameters
2647 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2648 Here's an example group parameter list:
2651 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2655 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2656 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2657 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2658 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2660 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2661 is an alist of regexps and values.
2663 The following group parameters can be used:
2668 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2671 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2674 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2675 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2676 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2677 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2678 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2680 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2681 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2682 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2683 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2684 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2685 list address instead.
2687 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2691 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2694 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2697 It is totally ignored
2698 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2699 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2701 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2702 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2703 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2704 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2705 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2707 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2708 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2709 sending the message.
2711 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2712 @cindex Mail List Groups
2713 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2714 entering summary buffer.
2716 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2721 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2722 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2723 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2724 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2725 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2726 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2728 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2729 directly uses this group parameter.
2733 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2734 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2735 of whether it has any unread articles.
2737 @item broken-reply-to
2738 @cindex broken-reply-to
2739 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2740 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2741 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2742 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2743 broken behavior. So there!
2747 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2748 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2752 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2753 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2754 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2759 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2760 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2761 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2762 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2763 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2764 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2765 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2766 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2767 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2771 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2772 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2773 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2775 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2778 @cindex total-expire
2779 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2780 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2781 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2782 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2785 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2789 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2790 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2791 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2792 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2793 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2794 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2795 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2798 @cindex score file group parameter
2799 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2800 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2801 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2804 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2805 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2806 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2807 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2810 @cindex admin-address
2811 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2812 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2813 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2814 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2818 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2819 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2823 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2826 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2827 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2830 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2834 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2836 Here are some examples:
2840 Display only unread articles.
2843 Display everything except expirable articles.
2845 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2846 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2850 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2851 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2852 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2853 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2854 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2858 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2859 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2860 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2864 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2865 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2866 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2870 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2871 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2872 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2874 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2876 @item ignored-charsets
2877 @cindex ignored-charset
2878 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2879 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2880 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2882 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2885 @cindex posting-style
2886 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2887 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2888 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2889 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2890 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2892 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2893 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2894 like this in the group parameters:
2899 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2900 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2905 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2906 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2910 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2911 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2912 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2913 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2914 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2918 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2919 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2920 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2921 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2923 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2924 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2925 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2926 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2929 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2930 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2934 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2937 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2938 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2939 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2940 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2941 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2942 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2943 @code{eval}ed there.
2945 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2946 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2947 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2948 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2949 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2950 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2951 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2952 parameters for the group.
2955 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2956 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2957 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2958 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2959 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2963 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2964 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2965 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2966 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2967 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2969 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2970 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2974 (setq gnus-parameters
2976 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2977 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2978 (gnus-summary-line-format
2979 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2983 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2987 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2991 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2994 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2995 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2998 @node Listing Groups
2999 @section Listing Groups
3000 @cindex group listing
3002 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3011 List all groups that have unread articles
3012 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3013 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3014 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3015 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3022 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3023 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3024 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3025 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3026 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3027 unsubscribed groups).
3031 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3032 List all unread groups on a specific level
3033 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3034 with no unread articles.
3038 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3039 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3040 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3041 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3046 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3047 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3051 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3052 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3053 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3057 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3058 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3062 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3063 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3064 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3065 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3066 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3067 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3068 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3069 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3073 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3074 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3075 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3079 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3080 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3081 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3086 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3090 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3091 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3095 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3096 List groups limited within the current selection
3097 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3101 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3102 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3106 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3107 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3111 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3112 @cindex visible group parameter
3113 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3114 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3115 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3116 get the same effect.
3118 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3119 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3120 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3121 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3122 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3125 @node Sorting Groups
3126 @section Sorting Groups
3127 @cindex sorting groups
3129 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3130 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3131 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3132 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3133 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3134 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3141 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3145 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3149 Sort by group level.
3151 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3152 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3153 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3155 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3156 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3157 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3158 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3160 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3161 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3162 Sort by number of unread articles.
3164 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3166 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3168 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3169 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3170 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3175 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3176 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3180 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3181 some sorting criteria:
3185 @kindex G S a (Group)
3186 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3187 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3188 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3191 @kindex G S u (Group)
3192 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3193 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3194 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3197 @kindex G S l (Group)
3198 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3199 Sort the group buffer by group level
3200 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3203 @kindex G S v (Group)
3204 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3205 Sort the group buffer by group score
3206 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3209 @kindex G S r (Group)
3210 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3211 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3212 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3215 @kindex G S m (Group)
3216 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3217 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3218 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3221 @kindex G S n (Group)
3222 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3223 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3224 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3228 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3229 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3231 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3232 commands will sort in reverse order.
3234 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3238 @kindex G P a (Group)
3239 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3240 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3241 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3244 @kindex G P u (Group)
3245 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3246 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3247 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3250 @kindex G P l (Group)
3251 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3252 Sort the groups by group level
3253 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3256 @kindex G P v (Group)
3257 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3258 Sort the groups by group score
3259 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3262 @kindex G P r (Group)
3263 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3264 Sort the groups by group rank
3265 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3268 @kindex G P m (Group)
3269 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3270 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3271 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3274 @kindex G P n (Group)
3275 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3276 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3277 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3280 @kindex G P s (Group)
3281 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3282 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3286 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3290 @node Group Maintenance
3291 @section Group Maintenance
3292 @cindex bogus groups
3297 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3298 Find bogus groups and delete them
3299 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3303 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3304 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3305 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3306 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3307 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3311 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3312 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3313 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3314 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3315 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3316 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3319 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3320 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3321 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3322 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3327 @node Browse Foreign Server
3328 @section Browse Foreign Server
3329 @cindex foreign servers
3330 @cindex browsing servers
3335 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3336 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3337 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3338 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3341 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3342 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3343 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3344 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3346 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3351 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3352 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3356 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3357 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3360 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3361 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3362 Enter the current group and display the first article
3363 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3366 @kindex RET (Browse)
3367 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3368 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3372 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3373 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3374 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3380 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3381 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3385 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3386 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3390 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3391 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3392 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3397 @section Exiting Gnus
3398 @cindex exiting Gnus
3400 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3405 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3406 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3407 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3408 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3412 @findex gnus-group-exit
3413 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3414 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3418 @findex gnus-group-quit
3419 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3420 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3423 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3424 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3425 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3426 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3427 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3432 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3433 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3434 trying to customize meta-variables.
3439 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3440 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3441 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3447 @section Group Topics
3450 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3451 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3452 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3453 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3454 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3455 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3459 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3460 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3471 2: alt.religion.emacs
3474 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3476 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3477 13: comp.sources.unix
3480 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3482 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3483 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3484 is a toggling command.)
3486 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3487 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3488 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3489 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3492 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3493 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3494 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3497 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3501 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3502 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3503 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3504 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3505 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3509 @node Topic Commands
3510 @subsection Topic Commands
3511 @cindex topic commands
3513 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3514 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3515 definitions slightly.
3517 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3518 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3519 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3520 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3521 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3522 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3524 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3531 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3532 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3533 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3537 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3539 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3540 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3541 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3542 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3545 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3546 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3547 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3548 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3552 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3553 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3554 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3555 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3561 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3562 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3563 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3567 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3568 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3569 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3572 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3573 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3574 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3575 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3576 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3578 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3579 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3583 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3584 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3591 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3593 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3594 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3595 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3596 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3597 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3598 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3602 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3608 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3609 Move the current group to some other topic
3610 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3611 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3615 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3616 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3620 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3621 Copy the current group to some other topic
3622 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3623 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3627 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3628 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3629 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3633 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3634 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3635 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3639 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3640 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3641 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3642 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3643 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3644 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3645 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3648 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3649 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3653 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3654 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3655 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3659 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3660 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3661 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3665 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3666 Toggle hiding empty topics
3667 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3671 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3672 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3673 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3676 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3677 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3678 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3679 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3682 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3683 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3684 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3685 expiry process (if any)
3686 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3690 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3691 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3694 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3695 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3696 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3700 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3701 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3702 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3705 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3706 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3707 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3710 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3711 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3712 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3716 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3717 @cindex group parameters
3718 @cindex topic parameters
3720 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3721 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3726 @node Topic Variables
3727 @subsection Topic Variables
3728 @cindex topic variables
3730 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3731 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3733 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3734 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3735 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3748 Number of groups in the topic.
3750 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3752 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3755 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3756 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3757 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3760 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3761 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3763 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3764 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3765 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3769 @subsection Topic Sorting
3770 @cindex topic sorting
3772 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3778 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3779 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3780 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3781 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3784 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3785 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3786 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3787 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3790 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3791 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3792 Sort the current topic by group level
3793 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3796 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3797 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3798 Sort the current topic by group score
3799 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3802 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3803 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3804 Sort the current topic by group rank
3805 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3808 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3809 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3810 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3811 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3814 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3815 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3816 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3817 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3821 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3822 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3823 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3824 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3828 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3829 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3833 @node Topic Topology
3834 @subsection Topic Topology
3835 @cindex topic topology
3838 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3844 2: alt.religion.emacs
3847 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3849 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3850 13: comp.sources.unix
3853 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3854 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3855 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3860 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3861 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3865 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3866 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3867 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3868 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3869 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3870 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3872 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3873 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3874 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3877 @node Topic Parameters
3878 @subsection Topic Parameters
3879 @cindex topic parameters
3881 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3882 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3883 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3885 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3890 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3891 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3892 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3895 @item subscribe-level
3896 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3897 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3898 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3902 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3903 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3904 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3905 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3911 2: alt.religion.emacs
3915 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3917 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3918 13: comp.sources.unix
3922 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3923 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3924 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3925 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3926 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3927 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3929 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3930 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3931 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3932 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3933 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3935 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3936 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3937 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3938 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3939 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3940 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3941 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3942 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3945 @node Misc Group Stuff
3946 @section Misc Group Stuff
3949 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3950 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3951 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3952 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3953 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3960 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3961 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3962 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3966 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3967 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3968 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3969 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3970 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3971 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3972 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3976 @findex gnus-group-mail
3977 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3978 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3979 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3980 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3984 @findex gnus-group-news
3985 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3986 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3987 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3989 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3990 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3991 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3992 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3993 for this to work though.
3997 Variables for the group buffer:
4001 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4002 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4003 is called after the group buffer has been
4006 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4007 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4008 is called after the group buffer is
4009 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4012 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4013 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4014 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4015 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4017 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4018 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4019 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4020 whether they are empty or not.
4022 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4023 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4024 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4025 non-ASCII group names.
4029 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4030 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4033 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4034 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4035 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4036 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4037 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4038 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4042 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4043 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4048 @node Scanning New Messages
4049 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4050 @cindex new messages
4051 @cindex scanning new news
4057 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4058 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4059 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4060 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4061 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4062 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4067 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4068 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4069 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4070 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4071 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4072 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4073 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4075 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4076 @cindex activating groups
4078 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4079 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4084 @findex gnus-group-restart
4085 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4086 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4087 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4091 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4092 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4094 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4095 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4099 @node Group Information
4100 @subsection Group Information
4101 @cindex group information
4102 @cindex information on groups
4109 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4110 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4113 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4114 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4115 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4116 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4117 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4118 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4119 for fetching the file.
4121 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4122 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4126 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4127 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4129 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4130 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4133 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4134 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4135 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4139 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4140 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4141 @cindex control message
4142 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4143 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4144 group if given a prefix argument.
4146 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4147 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4148 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4151 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4152 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4153 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4157 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4159 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4160 @cindex describing groups
4161 @cindex group description
4162 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4163 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4164 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4168 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4169 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4170 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4177 @findex gnus-version
4178 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4182 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4183 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4186 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4189 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4190 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4194 @node Group Timestamp
4195 @subsection Group Timestamp
4197 @cindex group timestamps
4199 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4200 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4201 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4204 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4207 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4209 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4210 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4213 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4214 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4217 This will result in lines looking like:
4220 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4221 0: custom 19961002T012713
4224 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4225 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4229 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4230 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4233 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4234 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4238 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4239 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4240 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4241 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4243 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4249 @subsection File Commands
4250 @cindex file commands
4256 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4257 @vindex gnus-init-file
4258 @cindex reading init file
4259 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4260 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4264 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4265 @cindex saving .newsrc
4266 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4267 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4268 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4271 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4272 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4273 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4278 @node Sieve Commands
4279 @subsection Sieve Commands
4280 @cindex group sieve commands
4282 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4283 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4284 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4285 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4286 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4288 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4289 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4290 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4291 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4292 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4293 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4294 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4295 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4296 regenerate the Sieve script.
4298 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4299 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4300 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4301 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4302 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4303 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4304 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4305 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4306 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4307 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4310 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4311 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4316 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4322 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4323 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4324 @cindex generating sieve script
4325 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4326 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4330 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4331 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4332 @cindex updating sieve script
4333 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4334 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4335 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4340 @node Summary Buffer
4341 @chapter Summary Buffer
4342 @cindex summary buffer
4344 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4345 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4347 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4348 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4350 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4353 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4354 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4355 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4356 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4357 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4358 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4359 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4360 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4361 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4362 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4363 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4364 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4365 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4366 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4367 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4368 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4369 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4370 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4371 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4372 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4373 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4374 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4375 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4376 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4377 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4378 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4379 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4380 or reselecting the current group.
4381 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4382 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4383 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4384 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4388 @node Summary Buffer Format
4389 @section Summary Buffer Format
4390 @cindex summary buffer format
4394 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4395 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4396 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4402 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4403 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4404 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4405 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4408 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4409 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4410 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4411 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4412 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4413 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4414 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4415 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4416 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4417 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4418 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4421 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4422 'mail-extract-address-components)
4425 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4426 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4427 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4428 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4431 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4432 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4434 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4435 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4436 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4437 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4438 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4440 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4441 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4442 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4443 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4444 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4445 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4447 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4449 The following format specification characters and extended format
4450 specification(s) are understood:
4456 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4457 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4459 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4460 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4461 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4463 Full @code{From} header.
4465 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4467 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4470 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4471 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4472 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4473 may be more thorough.
4475 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4478 Number of lines in the article.
4480 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4481 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4483 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4484 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4486 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4488 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4491 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4492 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4494 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4495 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4497 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4498 for adopted articles.
4500 One space for each thread level.
4502 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4504 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4507 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4508 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4509 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4512 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4514 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4515 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4516 default level. If the difference between
4517 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4518 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4526 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4528 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4534 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4535 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4537 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4538 article has any children.
4544 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4545 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4547 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4548 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4549 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4550 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4551 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4552 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4555 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4556 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4557 There can only be one such area.
4559 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4560 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4561 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4562 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4563 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4564 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4566 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4567 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4569 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4572 @node To From Newsgroups
4573 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4577 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4578 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4579 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4580 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4581 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4585 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4586 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4587 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4591 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4592 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4595 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4596 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4599 @findex gnus-extra-header
4600 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4601 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4602 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4605 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4609 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4610 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4611 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4612 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4613 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4614 headers are used instead.
4618 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4619 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4620 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4621 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4622 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4623 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4625 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4626 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4627 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4628 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4630 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4634 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4636 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4637 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4638 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4639 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4643 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4646 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4647 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4650 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4651 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4652 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4658 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4659 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4662 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4663 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4665 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4666 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4667 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4668 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4670 Here are the elements you can play with:
4676 Unprefixed group name.
4678 Current article number.
4680 Current article score.
4684 Number of unread articles in this group.
4686 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4689 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4690 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4691 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4692 and no unselected ones.
4694 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4695 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4697 Subject of the current article.
4699 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4701 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4703 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4705 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4707 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4709 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4713 @node Summary Highlighting
4714 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4718 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4719 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4720 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4721 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4722 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4724 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4725 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4726 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4727 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4729 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4730 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4731 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4732 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4734 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4735 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4736 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4737 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4738 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4739 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4742 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4743 ((> score default) . bold))
4745 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4746 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4750 @node Summary Maneuvering
4751 @section Summary Maneuvering
4752 @cindex summary movement
4754 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4755 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4757 None of these commands select articles.
4762 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4763 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4764 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4765 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4766 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4770 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4771 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4772 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4773 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4774 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4777 @kindex G g (Summary)
4778 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4779 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4780 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4783 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4784 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4785 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4786 to the group buffer.
4788 Variables related to summary movement:
4792 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4793 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4794 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4795 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4796 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4797 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4798 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4799 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4800 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4801 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4802 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4803 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4804 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4805 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4807 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4808 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4809 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4810 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4811 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4812 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4813 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4815 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4817 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4818 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4819 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4820 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4821 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4823 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4824 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4825 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4826 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4827 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4828 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4829 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4830 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4833 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4834 the given number of lines from the top.
4839 @node Choosing Articles
4840 @section Choosing Articles
4841 @cindex selecting articles
4844 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4845 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4849 @node Choosing Commands
4850 @subsection Choosing Commands
4852 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4853 and they all select and display an article.
4855 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4856 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4860 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4861 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4862 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4863 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4868 @kindex G n (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4870 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4871 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4876 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4877 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4878 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4883 @kindex G N (Summary)
4884 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4885 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4890 @kindex G P (Summary)
4891 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4892 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4895 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4896 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4897 Go to the next article with the same subject
4898 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4901 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4903 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4904 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4908 @kindex G f (Summary)
4910 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4911 Go to the first unread article
4912 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4916 @kindex G b (Summary)
4918 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4919 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4920 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4921 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4926 @kindex G l (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4928 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4931 @kindex G o (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4934 @cindex article history
4935 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4936 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4937 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4938 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4939 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4940 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4945 @kindex G j (Summary)
4946 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4947 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4948 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4953 @node Choosing Variables
4954 @subsection Choosing Variables
4956 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4959 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4960 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4961 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4962 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4963 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4964 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4966 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4967 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4968 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4969 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you wish
4970 that the Agent saves all articles you read, putting
4971 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook should do it.
4973 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4974 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4975 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4976 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4977 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4978 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4979 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4980 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4981 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4982 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4983 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4984 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4985 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4986 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4991 @node Paging the Article
4992 @section Scrolling the Article
4993 @cindex article scrolling
4998 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4999 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5000 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5001 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5002 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5005 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5006 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5007 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5010 @kindex RET (Summary)
5011 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5012 Scroll the current article one line forward
5013 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5016 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5018 Scroll the current article one line backward
5019 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5023 @kindex A g (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5026 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5027 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5028 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5029 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5030 the way it came from the server.
5032 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5033 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5034 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5037 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5042 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5047 @kindex A < (Summary)
5048 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5049 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5050 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5055 @kindex A > (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5057 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5061 @kindex A s (Summary)
5063 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5064 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5065 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5069 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5070 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5075 @node Reply Followup and Post
5076 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5079 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5080 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5081 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5082 * Canceling and Superseding::
5086 @node Summary Mail Commands
5087 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5089 @cindex composing mail
5091 Commands for composing a mail message:
5097 @kindex S r (Summary)
5099 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5100 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5101 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5102 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5103 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5108 @kindex S R (Summary)
5109 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5110 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5111 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5112 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5113 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5116 @kindex S w (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5118 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5119 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5120 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5121 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5124 @kindex S W (Summary)
5125 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5126 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5127 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5128 the process/prefix convention.
5131 @kindex S v (Summary)
5132 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5133 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5134 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5135 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5136 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5137 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5140 @kindex S V (Summary)
5141 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5142 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5143 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5144 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5147 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5148 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5149 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5150 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5153 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5154 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5155 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5156 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5157 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5161 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5162 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5163 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5164 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5165 Forward the current article to some other person
5166 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5167 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5168 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5169 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5170 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5171 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5172 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5173 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5174 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5180 @kindex S m (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5182 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5183 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5184 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5185 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5190 @kindex S i (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5192 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5193 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5194 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5196 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5197 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5198 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5199 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5200 for this to work though.
5203 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5205 @cindex bouncing mail
5206 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5207 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5208 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5209 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5210 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5211 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5212 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5213 very well fail, though.
5216 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5217 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5218 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5219 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5220 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5221 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5222 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5223 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5224 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5225 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5227 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5228 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5229 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5230 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5231 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5233 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5234 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5237 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5239 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5240 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5241 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5244 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5246 @cindex crossposting
5247 @cindex excessive crossposting
5248 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5249 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5251 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5252 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5253 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5254 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5255 command understands the process/prefix convention
5256 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5260 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5261 Manual}, for more information.
5264 @node Summary Post Commands
5265 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5267 @cindex composing news
5269 Commands for posting a news article:
5275 @kindex S p (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5277 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5278 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5279 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5280 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5285 @kindex S f (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5287 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5288 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5292 @kindex S F (Summary)
5294 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5295 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5296 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5297 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5298 process/prefix convention.
5301 @kindex S n (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5303 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5304 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5307 @kindex S N (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5309 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5310 message through mail and include the original message
5311 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5312 the process/prefix convention.
5315 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5317 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5318 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5319 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5320 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5321 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5322 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5323 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5324 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5325 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5326 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5327 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5330 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5331 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5333 @cindex making digests
5334 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5335 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5336 process/prefix convention.
5339 @kindex S u (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5341 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5342 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5343 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5346 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5347 Manual}, for more information.
5350 @node Summary Message Commands
5351 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5355 @kindex S y (Summary)
5356 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5357 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5358 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5359 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5360 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5365 @node Canceling and Superseding
5366 @subsection Canceling Articles
5367 @cindex canceling articles
5368 @cindex superseding articles
5370 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5371 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5373 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5375 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5377 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5378 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5379 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5380 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5381 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5382 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5384 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5385 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5388 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5389 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5390 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5392 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5393 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5394 your original article.
5396 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5398 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5399 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5400 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5403 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5404 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5405 have posted almost the same article twice.
5407 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5408 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5409 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5410 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5411 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5412 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5413 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5414 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5415 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5416 canceled/superseded.
5418 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5420 @node Delayed Articles
5421 @section Delayed Articles
5422 @cindex delayed sending
5423 @cindex send delayed
5425 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5426 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5427 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5428 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5431 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5434 @findex gnus-delay-article
5435 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5436 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5437 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5438 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5442 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5443 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5444 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5445 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5448 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5449 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5450 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5453 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5454 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5455 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5456 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5457 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5458 that means a time tomorrow.
5461 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5462 couple of variables:
5465 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5466 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5467 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5468 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5470 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5471 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5472 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5473 formats described above.
5475 @item gnus-delay-group
5476 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5477 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5478 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5479 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5481 @item gnus-delay-header
5482 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5483 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5484 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5485 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5488 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5489 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5490 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5491 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5492 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5494 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5495 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5496 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5497 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5498 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5499 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5502 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5503 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5504 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5505 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5506 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5507 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5508 argument is ignored.
5510 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5511 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5512 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5516 @node Marking Articles
5517 @section Marking Articles
5518 @cindex article marking
5519 @cindex article ticking
5522 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5524 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5525 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5526 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5528 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5531 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5532 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5533 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5537 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5541 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5542 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5543 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5547 @node Unread Articles
5548 @subsection Unread Articles
5550 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5555 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5556 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5558 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5559 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5560 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5561 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5562 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5563 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5564 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5567 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5568 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5570 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5571 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5572 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5573 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5577 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5578 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5580 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5585 @subsection Read Articles
5586 @cindex expirable mark
5588 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5593 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5594 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5595 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5598 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5599 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5602 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5603 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5604 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5607 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5608 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5611 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5612 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5615 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5616 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5619 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5620 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5623 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5624 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5627 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5628 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5631 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5632 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5636 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5637 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5638 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5642 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5643 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5645 One more special mark, though:
5649 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5650 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5652 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5653 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5654 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5655 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5661 @subsection Other Marks
5662 @cindex process mark
5665 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5671 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5672 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5673 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5674 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5675 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5678 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5679 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5680 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5681 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5684 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5685 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5686 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5689 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5690 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5691 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5694 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5695 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5696 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5697 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5700 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5701 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5702 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5703 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5704 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5705 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5708 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5709 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5710 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5711 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5714 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5715 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5716 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5717 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5718 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5719 which character to use.)
5722 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5723 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5724 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5725 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5726 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5727 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5731 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5732 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5733 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5734 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5735 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5738 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5739 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5740 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5741 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5742 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5743 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5747 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5748 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5749 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5751 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5752 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5753 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5757 @subsection Setting Marks
5758 @cindex setting marks
5760 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5765 @kindex M c (Summary)
5766 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5767 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5768 @cindex mark as unread
5769 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5770 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5776 @kindex M t (Summary)
5777 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5778 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5779 @xref{Article Caching}.
5784 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5785 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5786 Mark the current article as dormant
5787 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5791 @kindex M d (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5794 Mark the current article as read
5795 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5799 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5800 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5801 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5806 @kindex M k (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5808 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5809 and then select the next unread article
5810 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5814 @kindex M K (Summary)
5815 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5817 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5818 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5821 @kindex M C (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5823 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5824 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5827 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5829 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5830 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5833 @kindex M H (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5835 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5836 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5839 @kindex M h (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5841 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5842 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5845 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5847 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5848 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5851 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5852 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5853 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5854 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5858 @kindex M e (Summary)
5860 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5861 Mark the current article as expirable
5862 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5865 @kindex M b (Summary)
5866 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5867 Set a bookmark in the current article
5868 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5871 @kindex M B (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5873 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5874 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5877 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5878 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5879 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5880 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5883 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5885 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5886 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5889 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5891 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5892 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5893 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5896 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5897 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5898 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5899 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5900 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5901 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5902 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5903 The default is @code{t}.
5906 @node Generic Marking Commands
5907 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5909 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5910 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5911 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5912 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5913 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5916 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5917 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5920 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5921 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5922 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5923 to list in this manual.
5925 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5926 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5927 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5928 article, you could say something like:
5931 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5932 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5933 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5939 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5940 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5944 @node Setting Process Marks
5945 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5946 @cindex setting process marks
5948 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
5949 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
5950 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
5951 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
5952 commands into the cache. For more information,
5953 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
5960 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5961 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5962 Mark the current article with the process mark
5963 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5964 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5968 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5969 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5970 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5971 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5974 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5976 Remove the process mark from all articles
5977 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5980 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5982 Invert the list of process marked articles
5983 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5986 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5988 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5989 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5992 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5993 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5994 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5995 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5998 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6000 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6004 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6005 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6008 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6010 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6011 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6014 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6016 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6017 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6020 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6021 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6022 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6023 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6026 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6028 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6031 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6032 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6033 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6034 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6037 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6038 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6039 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6042 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6043 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6044 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6045 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6048 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6049 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6050 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6051 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6054 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6055 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6056 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6057 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6060 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6062 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6063 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6067 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6068 set process marks based on article body contents.
6075 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6076 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6077 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6080 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6081 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6082 additional articles.
6088 @kindex / / (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6090 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6091 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6095 @kindex / a (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6097 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6098 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6102 @kindex / x (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6104 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6105 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6106 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6111 @kindex / u (Summary)
6113 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6114 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6115 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6116 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6117 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6120 @kindex / m (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6122 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6123 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6126 @kindex / t (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6128 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6129 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6130 articles younger than that number of days.
6133 @kindex / n (Summary)
6134 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6135 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6136 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6137 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6140 @kindex / w (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6142 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6143 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6147 @kindex / . (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6149 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6150 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6153 @kindex / v (Summary)
6154 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6155 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6156 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6159 @kindex / p (Summary)
6160 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6161 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6162 group parameter predicate
6163 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6164 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6168 @kindex M S (Summary)
6169 @kindex / E (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6171 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6175 @kindex / D (Summary)
6176 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6177 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6178 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6181 @kindex / * (Summary)
6182 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6183 Include all cached articles in the limit
6184 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6187 @kindex / d (Summary)
6188 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6189 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6190 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6193 @kindex / M (Summary)
6194 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6195 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6198 @kindex / T (Summary)
6199 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6200 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6203 @kindex / c (Summary)
6204 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6205 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6206 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6209 @kindex / C (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6211 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6212 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6213 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6216 @kindex / N (Summary)
6217 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6218 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6219 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6222 @kindex / o (Summary)
6223 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6224 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6225 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6233 @cindex article threading
6235 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6236 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6237 hierarchical fashion.
6239 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6240 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6241 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6242 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6243 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6244 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6245 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6247 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6251 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6254 A tree-like article structure.
6257 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6260 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6261 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6262 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6263 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6264 called loose threads.
6266 @item thread gathering
6267 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6269 @item sparse threads
6270 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6271 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6277 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6278 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6282 @node Customizing Threading
6283 @subsection Customizing Threading
6284 @cindex customizing threading
6287 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6288 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6289 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6290 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6295 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6298 @cindex loose threads
6301 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6302 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6303 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6304 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6305 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6306 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6308 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6309 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6310 There are four possible values:
6314 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6315 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6316 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6317 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6318 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6323 @cindex adopting articles
6328 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6329 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6330 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6331 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6334 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6335 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6336 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6337 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6338 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6339 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6340 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6341 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6342 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6343 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to t.
6346 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6347 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6348 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6352 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6353 display them after one another.
6356 Don't gather loose threads.
6359 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6360 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6361 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6362 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6363 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6364 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6365 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6366 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6367 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6368 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6369 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6371 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6372 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6373 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6376 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6377 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6378 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6379 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6380 simplification is used.
6382 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6383 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6384 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6385 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6387 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6389 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6395 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6396 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6397 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6398 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6403 (mapconcat 'identity
6404 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6406 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6409 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6412 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6413 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6414 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6415 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6416 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6417 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6419 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6422 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6423 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6424 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6426 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6427 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6430 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6431 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6432 Remove excessive whitespace.
6434 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6435 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6436 Remove all whitespace.
6439 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6442 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6443 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6444 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6445 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6446 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6447 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6448 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6449 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6451 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6452 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6453 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6454 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6455 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6456 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6457 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6458 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6459 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6463 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6464 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6465 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6466 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6468 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6469 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6470 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6473 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6477 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6478 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6484 @node Filling In Threads
6485 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6488 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6489 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6490 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6491 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6492 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6493 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6494 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6495 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6496 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6497 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6498 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6499 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6502 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6503 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6504 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6506 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6507 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6508 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6509 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6510 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6511 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6512 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6513 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6514 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6515 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6516 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6517 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6518 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6519 @code{nil} by default.
6521 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6522 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6523 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6524 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6525 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6526 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6527 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6529 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6530 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6531 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6536 @node More Threading
6537 @subsubsection More Threading
6540 @item gnus-show-threads
6541 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6542 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6543 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6544 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6545 slower and more awkward.
6547 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6548 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6549 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6552 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6553 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6554 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6559 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6560 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6561 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6564 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6565 unread, but you get my drift.)
6568 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6569 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6570 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6571 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6572 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6573 threads are expunged.
6575 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6576 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6577 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6580 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6581 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6582 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6583 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6584 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6585 result in a new thread.
6587 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6588 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6589 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6592 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6593 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6594 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6595 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6596 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6597 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6598 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6599 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6600 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6601 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6602 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6607 @node Low-Level Threading
6608 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6612 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6613 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6614 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6616 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6617 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6618 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6619 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6620 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6621 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6622 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6623 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6624 meaningful. Here's one example:
6627 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6629 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6630 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6632 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6634 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6641 @node Thread Commands
6642 @subsection Thread Commands
6643 @cindex thread commands
6649 @kindex T k (Summary)
6650 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6652 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6653 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6654 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6659 @kindex T l (Summary)
6660 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6662 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6663 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6666 @kindex T i (Summary)
6667 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6668 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6669 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6672 @kindex T # (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6674 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6675 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6678 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6680 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6681 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6684 @kindex T T (Summary)
6685 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6686 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6689 @kindex T s (Summary)
6690 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6691 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6692 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6695 @kindex T h (Summary)
6696 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6697 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6700 @kindex T S (Summary)
6701 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6702 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6705 @kindex T H (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6707 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6710 @kindex T t (Summary)
6711 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6712 Re-thread the current article's thread
6713 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6714 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6717 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6718 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6719 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6720 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6724 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6725 understand the numeric prefix.
6730 @kindex T n (Summary)
6732 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6734 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6736 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6739 @kindex T p (Summary)
6741 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6743 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6744 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6745 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6748 @kindex T d (Summary)
6749 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6750 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6753 @kindex T u (Summary)
6754 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6755 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6758 @kindex T o (Summary)
6759 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6760 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6763 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6764 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6765 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6766 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6767 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6768 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6769 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6770 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6771 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6772 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6773 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6774 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6778 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6779 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6781 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6782 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6783 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6784 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6785 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6786 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6787 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6788 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6789 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6790 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6791 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6792 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6793 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6795 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6796 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6797 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6798 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6799 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6800 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6801 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6802 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6804 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6805 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6806 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6808 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6809 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6810 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6811 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6812 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6813 ascending article order.
6815 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6816 by number, you could do something like:
6819 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6820 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6821 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6822 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6825 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6826 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6827 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6828 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6829 which the articles arrived.
6831 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6835 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6837 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6838 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6841 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6842 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6843 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6844 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6847 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6848 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6849 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6850 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6851 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6852 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6853 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6854 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6855 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6856 variable. It is very similar to the
6857 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6858 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6859 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6860 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6861 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6862 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6863 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6865 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6869 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6870 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6871 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6876 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6877 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6878 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6879 @cindex article pre-fetch
6882 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6883 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6884 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6885 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6886 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6888 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6889 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6891 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6892 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6893 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6894 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6895 connection is blocked.
6897 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6898 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6899 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6900 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6902 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6903 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6904 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6905 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6908 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6911 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6912 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6913 happen automatically.
6915 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6916 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6917 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6918 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6919 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6920 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6921 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6923 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6924 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6925 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6926 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6927 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6928 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6929 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6930 data structure as the only parameter.
6932 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6935 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6936 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6937 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6938 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6941 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6944 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6945 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6946 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6948 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6949 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6950 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6951 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6955 Remove articles when they are read.
6958 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6961 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6963 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6964 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6965 @c from the next group.
6968 @node Article Caching
6969 @section Article Caching
6970 @cindex article caching
6973 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6974 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6975 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6976 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6977 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6979 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6981 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6982 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6983 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6984 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6985 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6986 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6987 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6988 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6990 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6991 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6992 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6993 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6994 as dormant, and don't worry.
6996 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6998 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6999 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7000 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7001 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7002 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7003 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7004 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7005 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7006 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7007 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7009 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7010 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7011 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7012 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7013 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7014 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7015 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7016 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7017 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7018 not then be downloaded by this command.
7020 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7021 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7022 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7023 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7024 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7025 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7027 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7028 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7029 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7030 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7031 variables, the group is not cached.
7033 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7034 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7035 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7036 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7037 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7038 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7039 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7040 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7041 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7044 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7045 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7046 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7047 where, isn't that cool?
7049 @node Persistent Articles
7050 @section Persistent Articles
7051 @cindex persistent articles
7053 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7054 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7055 useful in my opinion.
7057 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7058 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7059 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7060 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7061 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7062 the expiry going on at the news server.
7064 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7065 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7066 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7072 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7073 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7076 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7077 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7078 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7079 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7083 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7085 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7086 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7087 interested in persistent articles:
7090 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7094 @node Article Backlog
7095 @section Article Backlog
7097 @cindex article backlog
7099 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7100 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7101 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7102 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7103 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7104 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7105 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7106 increase memory usage some.
7108 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7109 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7110 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7111 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7112 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7113 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7114 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7116 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7119 @node Saving Articles
7120 @section Saving Articles
7121 @cindex saving articles
7123 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7124 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7125 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7126 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7127 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7129 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7130 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7131 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7133 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7134 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7135 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7137 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7138 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7139 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7140 deleted before saving.
7146 @kindex O o (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7149 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7150 Save the current article using the default article saver
7151 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7154 @kindex O m (Summary)
7155 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7156 Save the current article in mail format
7157 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7160 @kindex O r (Summary)
7161 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7162 Save the current article in rmail format
7163 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7166 @kindex O f (Summary)
7167 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7168 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7169 Save the current article in plain file format
7170 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7173 @kindex O F (Summary)
7174 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7175 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7176 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7179 @kindex O b (Summary)
7180 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7181 Save the current article body in plain file format
7182 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7185 @kindex O h (Summary)
7186 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7187 Save the current article in mh folder format
7188 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7191 @kindex O v (Summary)
7192 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7193 Save the current article in a VM folder
7194 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7198 @kindex O p (Summary)
7200 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7201 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7202 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7203 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7204 complete headers in the piped output.
7207 @kindex O P (Summary)
7208 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7209 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7210 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7211 external program Muttprint (see
7212 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7213 options to use is controlled by the variable
7214 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7218 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7219 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7220 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7221 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7222 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7223 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7224 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7225 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7226 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7227 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7228 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7229 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7233 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7234 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7235 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7236 functions below, or you can create your own.
7240 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7241 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7242 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7243 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7244 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7245 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7246 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7248 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7249 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7250 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7251 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7252 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7253 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7255 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7256 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7257 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7258 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7259 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7260 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7261 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7263 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7264 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7265 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7266 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7267 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7268 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7270 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7271 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7272 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7273 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7274 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7276 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7277 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7278 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7279 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7280 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7283 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7284 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7285 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7286 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7287 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7289 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7290 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7291 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7292 reader to use this setting.
7295 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7296 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7297 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7298 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7301 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7302 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7303 available functions that generate names:
7307 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7308 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7309 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7311 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7312 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7313 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7315 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7316 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7317 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7319 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7320 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7321 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7323 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7324 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7325 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7328 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7329 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7330 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7331 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7332 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7336 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7337 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7338 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7339 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7342 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7343 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7344 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7345 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7346 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7347 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7348 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7349 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7350 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7352 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7353 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7354 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7355 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7357 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7358 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7359 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7362 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7363 lots of mail groups called things like
7364 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7365 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7366 following will do just that:
7369 (defun my-save-name (group)
7370 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7371 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7373 (setq gnus-split-methods
7374 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7379 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7380 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7381 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7382 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7383 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7384 all the files in the top level directory
7385 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7386 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7387 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7388 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7390 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7391 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7392 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7393 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7394 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7397 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7401 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7402 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7403 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7406 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7407 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7408 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7409 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7412 @node Decoding Articles
7413 @section Decoding Articles
7414 @cindex decoding articles
7416 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7417 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7420 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7421 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7422 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7423 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7424 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7425 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7429 @cindex article series
7430 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7431 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7432 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7433 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7434 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7436 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7437 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7438 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7440 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7441 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7442 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7444 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7445 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7446 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7449 @node Uuencoded Articles
7450 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7452 @cindex uuencoded articles
7457 @kindex X u (Summary)
7458 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7459 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7460 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7463 @kindex X U (Summary)
7464 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7465 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7466 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7469 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7470 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7471 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7474 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7475 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7476 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7477 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7481 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7482 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7483 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7484 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7485 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7487 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7488 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7489 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7490 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7493 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7494 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7495 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7496 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7497 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7498 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7502 @node Shell Archives
7503 @subsection Shell Archives
7505 @cindex shell archives
7506 @cindex shared articles
7508 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7509 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7510 some commands to deal with these:
7515 @kindex X s (Summary)
7516 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7517 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7520 @kindex X S (Summary)
7521 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7522 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7525 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7526 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7527 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7530 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7531 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7532 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7533 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7537 @node PostScript Files
7538 @subsection PostScript Files
7544 @kindex X p (Summary)
7545 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7546 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7549 @kindex X P (Summary)
7550 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7551 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7552 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7555 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7556 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7557 View the current PostScript series
7558 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7561 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7562 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7563 View and save the current PostScript series
7564 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7569 @subsection Other Files
7573 @kindex X o (Summary)
7574 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7575 Save the current series
7576 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7579 @kindex X b (Summary)
7580 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7581 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7582 doesn't really work yet.
7586 @node Decoding Variables
7587 @subsection Decoding Variables
7589 Adjective, not verb.
7592 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7593 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7594 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7598 @node Rule Variables
7599 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7600 @cindex rule variables
7602 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7603 variables are of the form
7606 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7613 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7614 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7616 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7617 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7620 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7621 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7624 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7625 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7626 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7627 user and default view rules.
7629 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7630 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7631 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7636 @node Other Decode Variables
7637 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7640 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7642 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7643 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7644 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7645 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7646 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7650 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7651 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7654 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7655 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7656 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7659 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7660 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7661 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7662 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7663 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7666 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7667 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7668 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7670 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7671 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7672 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7673 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7674 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7677 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7678 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7679 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7681 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7682 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7683 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7684 looking for files to display.
7686 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7687 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7688 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7691 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7692 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7693 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7696 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7697 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7698 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7701 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7702 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7703 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7706 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7707 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7708 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7709 decoded articles as unread.
7711 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7712 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7713 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7714 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7716 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7717 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7718 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7720 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7721 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7723 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7724 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7725 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7726 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7728 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7729 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7730 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7731 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7732 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7733 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7734 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7735 simply dropped them.
7740 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7741 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7745 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7746 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7747 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7748 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7749 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7750 for you when you post the article.
7752 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7753 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7754 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7755 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7757 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7758 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7759 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7760 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7761 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7762 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7763 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7765 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7766 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7767 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7768 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7769 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7770 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7771 Default is @code{t}.
7777 @subsection Viewing Files
7778 @cindex viewing files
7779 @cindex pseudo-articles
7781 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7782 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7783 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7784 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7785 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7786 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7787 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7789 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7790 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7791 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7792 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7794 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7795 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7796 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7798 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7799 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7800 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7801 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7802 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7804 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7805 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7806 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7807 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7808 a list of parameters to that command.
7810 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7811 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7812 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7814 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7815 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7816 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7819 @node Article Treatment
7820 @section Article Treatment
7822 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7823 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7824 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7825 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7826 these articles easier.
7829 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7830 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7831 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7832 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7833 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7834 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7835 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7836 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7837 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7838 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7842 @node Article Highlighting
7843 @subsection Article Highlighting
7844 @cindex highlighting
7846 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7847 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7852 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7853 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7854 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7855 Do much highlighting of the current article
7856 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7857 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7860 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7861 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7862 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7863 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7864 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7865 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7866 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7867 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7868 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7869 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7870 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7871 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7874 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7875 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7876 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7878 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7881 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7883 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7884 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7885 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7887 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7888 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7889 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7891 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7892 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7893 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7894 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7895 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7896 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7898 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7899 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7900 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7902 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7903 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7904 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7906 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7907 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7908 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7909 that it's a citation.
7911 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7912 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7913 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7915 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7916 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7917 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7919 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7920 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7921 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7922 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7928 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7929 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7930 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7931 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7932 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7933 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7934 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7935 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7940 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7943 @node Article Fontisizing
7944 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7946 @cindex article emphasis
7948 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7949 @kindex W e (Summary)
7950 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7951 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7952 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7953 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7955 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7956 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7957 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7958 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7959 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7960 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7961 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7962 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7966 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7967 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7968 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7977 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7978 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7979 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7980 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7981 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7982 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7983 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7984 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7985 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7986 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7987 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7988 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7989 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7991 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7992 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7993 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7997 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8000 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8002 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8003 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8004 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8005 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8007 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8010 @node Article Hiding
8011 @subsection Article Hiding
8012 @cindex article hiding
8014 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8015 too much cruft in most articles.
8020 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8021 @findex gnus-article-hide
8022 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8023 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8024 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8027 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8028 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8029 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8033 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8034 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8035 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8036 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8039 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8040 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8041 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8045 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8046 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8047 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8048 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8049 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8050 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8051 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8052 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8056 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8057 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8058 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8059 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8064 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8065 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8066 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8067 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8068 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8069 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8070 articles that have signatures in them do:
8072 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8074 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8076 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8077 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8079 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8082 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8087 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8088 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8089 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8090 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8093 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8094 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8095 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8096 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8099 @cindex stripping advertisements
8100 @cindex advertisements
8101 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8102 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8103 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8104 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8105 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8106 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8107 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8108 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8109 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8110 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8113 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8114 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8115 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8119 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8120 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8121 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8122 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8123 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8124 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8125 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8126 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8127 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8128 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8129 following element to remove them:
8132 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8138 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8139 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8140 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8141 customizing the hiding:
8145 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8146 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8147 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8148 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8149 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8150 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8151 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8156 Starting point of the hidden text.
8158 Ending point of the hidden text.
8160 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8162 Number of lines of hidden text.
8165 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8166 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8167 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8168 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8169 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8174 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8175 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8177 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8178 following two variables:
8181 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8182 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8183 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8184 50), hide the cited text.
8186 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8187 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8188 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8193 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8194 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8195 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8196 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8197 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8198 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8202 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8203 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8204 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8206 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8207 citation customization.
8209 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8213 @node Article Washing
8214 @subsection Article Washing
8216 @cindex article washing
8218 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8219 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8221 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8222 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8225 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8226 articles by default.
8231 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8232 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8236 @kindex W l (Summary)
8237 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8238 Remove page breaks from the current article
8239 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8243 @kindex W r (Summary)
8244 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8245 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8246 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8247 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8248 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8249 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8251 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8252 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8253 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8254 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8257 @kindex W m (Summary)
8258 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8259 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8260 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8264 @kindex W t (Summary)
8266 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8267 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8268 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8271 @kindex W v (Summary)
8272 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8273 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8274 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8277 @kindex W o (Summary)
8278 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8279 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8282 @kindex W d (Summary)
8283 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8284 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8286 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8288 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8289 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8290 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8291 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8294 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8295 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8296 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8297 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8300 @kindex W k (Summary)
8301 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8302 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8303 @cindex Outlook Express
8304 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles.
8305 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8308 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8309 @findex gnus-outlook-unwrap-lines
8310 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8311 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8312 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8313 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8314 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8315 (@code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8318 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8319 @findex gnus-outlook-repair-attribution
8320 Repair a broken attribution line
8321 (@code{gnus-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8324 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8325 @findex gnus-outlook-rearrange-citation
8326 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8327 (@code{gnus-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8330 @kindex W w (Summary)
8331 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8332 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8334 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8338 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8339 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8340 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8343 @kindex W C (Summary)
8344 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8345 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8346 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8349 @kindex W c (Summary)
8350 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8351 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8352 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8353 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8354 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8357 @kindex W q (Summary)
8358 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8359 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8360 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8361 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8362 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8363 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8364 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8365 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8366 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8369 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8370 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8371 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8372 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8373 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8374 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8375 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8377 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8380 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8382 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8383 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8384 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8387 @kindex W u (Summary)
8388 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8389 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8390 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8391 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8392 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8395 @kindex W h (Summary)
8396 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8397 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8398 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8399 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8401 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8403 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8404 The default is to use the function specified by
8405 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8406 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8407 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8408 you can use include:
8415 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8419 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8422 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8425 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8430 @kindex W b (Summary)
8431 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8432 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8433 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8436 @kindex W B (Summary)
8437 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8438 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8439 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8442 @kindex W p (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8444 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8445 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8446 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8447 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8448 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8449 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8452 @kindex W s (Summary)
8453 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8454 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8455 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8458 @kindex W a (Summary)
8459 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8460 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8461 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8464 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8465 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8466 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8467 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8470 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8471 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8472 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8473 lines with a single empty line.
8474 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8477 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8478 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8479 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8480 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8483 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8484 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8485 Do all the three commands above
8486 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8489 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8490 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8491 Remove all blank lines
8492 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8495 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8496 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8497 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8498 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8501 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8502 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8503 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8504 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8508 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8511 @node Article Header
8512 @subsection Article Header
8514 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8519 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8520 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8521 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8524 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8525 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8526 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8527 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8530 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8531 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8532 Fold all the message headers
8533 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8537 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8538 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8539 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8544 @node Article Buttons
8545 @subsection Article Buttons
8548 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8549 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8550 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8551 button on these references.
8553 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8554 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8555 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8556 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8557 one that handles article heads:
8561 @item gnus-button-alist
8562 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8563 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8566 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8572 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8573 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8574 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8575 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8576 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8579 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8580 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8581 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8584 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8585 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8586 avoid false matches.
8589 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8592 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8593 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8597 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8600 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8603 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8604 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8605 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8606 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8607 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8610 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8613 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8615 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8616 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8617 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8618 default values of the variables above.
8620 @item gnus-article-button-face
8621 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8622 Face used on buttons.
8624 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8625 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8626 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8630 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8634 @subsection Article Date
8636 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8637 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8638 when the article was sent.
8643 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8644 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8645 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8646 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8649 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8650 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8652 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8653 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8656 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8657 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8658 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8661 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8662 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8663 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8664 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8667 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8668 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8669 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8670 @findex format-time-string
8671 Display the date using a user-defined format
8672 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8673 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8674 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8675 for a list of possible format specs.
8678 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8680 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8681 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8682 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8683 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8686 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8689 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8690 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8693 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8694 into wonderful absurdities.
8696 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8699 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8702 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8703 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8707 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8708 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8709 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8710 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8711 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8712 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8713 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8717 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8718 preferred format automatically.
8721 @node Article Display
8722 @subsection Article Display
8727 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8728 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8730 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8731 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8733 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8734 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8736 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8737 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8739 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8744 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8745 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8746 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8747 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8750 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8751 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8752 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8753 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8756 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8757 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8758 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8761 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8762 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8763 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8766 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8767 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8768 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8769 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8772 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8773 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8774 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8775 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8778 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8779 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8780 Remove all images from the article buffer
8781 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8787 @node Article Signature
8788 @subsection Article Signature
8790 @cindex article signature
8792 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8793 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8794 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8795 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8796 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8797 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8798 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8799 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8800 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8803 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8804 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8805 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8806 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8807 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8808 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8809 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8810 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8813 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8816 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8817 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8818 signature when displaying articles.
8822 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8825 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8828 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8829 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8831 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8832 in question is not a signature.
8835 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8836 listed above. Here's an example:
8839 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8840 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8843 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8844 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8845 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8846 signature after all.
8849 @node Article Miscellania
8850 @subsection Article Miscellania
8854 @kindex A t (Summary)
8855 @findex gnus-article-babel
8856 Translate the article from one language to another
8857 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8863 @section MIME Commands
8864 @cindex MIME decoding
8866 @cindex viewing attachments
8868 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8869 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8875 @kindex K v (Summary)
8876 View the @sc{mime} part.
8879 @kindex K o (Summary)
8880 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8883 @kindex K c (Summary)
8884 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8887 @kindex K e (Summary)
8888 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8891 @kindex K i (Summary)
8892 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8895 @kindex K | (Summary)
8896 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8899 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8904 @kindex K b (Summary)
8905 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8906 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8910 @kindex K m (Summary)
8911 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8912 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8913 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8914 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8915 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8918 @kindex X m (Summary)
8919 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8920 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8921 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8922 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8925 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8926 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8927 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8928 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8931 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8932 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8933 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8934 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8937 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8938 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8939 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8940 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8942 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8943 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8944 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8945 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8946 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8947 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8950 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8951 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8952 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8953 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8960 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8961 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8962 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8963 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8966 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8969 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8973 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
8974 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
8975 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
8976 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
8977 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
8978 default is @code{nil}.
8980 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
8981 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
8982 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
8983 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
8984 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
8985 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
8986 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
8988 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8989 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8990 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8991 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8992 displayed or this variable is overridden by
8993 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8994 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
8995 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
8997 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8998 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8999 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9000 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9001 displayed. This variable overrides
9002 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9003 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9006 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9007 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9008 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9010 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9011 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9012 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9013 value is @code{nil}.
9015 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9016 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9017 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9018 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9019 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9020 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9021 save all jpegs into some directory).
9023 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9026 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9027 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9029 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9030 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9031 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9032 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9033 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9036 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9037 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9038 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9040 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9041 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9042 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9043 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9045 Ready-made functions include@*
9046 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9047 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9048 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9049 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9050 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9051 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9052 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9053 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9054 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9055 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9056 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9057 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9059 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9060 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9062 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9063 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9064 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9067 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9068 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9069 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9070 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9074 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9083 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9084 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9085 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9086 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9087 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9088 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9089 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9091 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9092 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9093 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9094 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9096 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9097 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9098 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9099 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9100 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9101 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9102 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9103 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9105 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9106 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9107 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9108 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9109 quoted-printable header encoding.
9111 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9112 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9113 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9117 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9120 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9121 means encode all charsets),
9123 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9124 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9125 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9132 @cindex coding system aliases
9133 @cindex preferred charset
9135 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9137 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9138 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9141 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9142 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9145 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9146 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9148 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9151 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9154 This will almost do the right thing.
9156 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9160 (codepage-setup 1251)
9161 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9165 @node Article Commands
9166 @section Article Commands
9173 @kindex A P (Summary)
9174 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9175 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9176 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9177 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9178 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9179 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9184 @node Summary Sorting
9185 @section Summary Sorting
9186 @cindex summary sorting
9188 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9189 can't really see why you'd want that.
9194 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9195 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9196 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9199 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9200 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9201 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9204 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9205 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9206 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9209 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9210 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9211 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9214 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9215 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9216 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9219 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9220 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9221 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9224 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9225 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9226 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9229 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9230 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9231 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9234 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9235 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9236 Sort using the default sorting method
9237 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9240 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9241 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9242 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9243 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9244 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9248 @node Finding the Parent
9249 @section Finding the Parent
9250 @cindex parent articles
9251 @cindex referring articles
9256 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9257 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9258 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9259 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9260 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9261 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9262 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9263 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9264 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9266 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9267 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9268 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9269 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9270 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9274 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9275 @kindex A R (Summary)
9276 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9277 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9280 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9281 @kindex A T (Summary)
9282 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9283 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9284 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9285 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9286 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9287 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9288 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9290 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9291 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9292 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9293 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9294 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9295 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9298 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9299 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9301 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9302 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9303 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9304 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9305 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9306 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9307 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9310 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9311 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9312 by giving this command a prefix.
9314 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9315 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9316 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9317 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9318 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9319 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9322 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9323 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9324 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9327 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9328 then ask Google if that fails:
9331 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9333 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9336 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9337 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9338 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9339 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9340 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9341 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9342 support this at all.
9345 @node Alternative Approaches
9346 @section Alternative Approaches
9348 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9349 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9352 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9353 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9358 @subsection Pick and Read
9359 @cindex pick and read
9361 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9362 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9363 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9364 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9366 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9367 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9368 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9369 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9370 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9371 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9373 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9378 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9379 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9380 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9381 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9382 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9383 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9384 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9385 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9388 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9389 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9390 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9391 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9395 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9396 Unpick the thread or article
9397 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9398 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9399 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9400 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9401 the thread or article at that line.
9405 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9406 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9407 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9408 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9409 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9410 will still be visible when you are reading.
9414 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9415 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9416 which is mapped to the same function
9417 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9419 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9422 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9425 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9426 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9428 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9429 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9430 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9432 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9433 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9434 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9435 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9436 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9437 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9438 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9442 @subsection Binary Groups
9443 @cindex binary groups
9445 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9446 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9447 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9448 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9449 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9450 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9451 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9454 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9455 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9456 command, when you have turned on this mode
9457 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9459 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9460 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9464 @section Tree Display
9467 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9468 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9469 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9470 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9473 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9476 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9477 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9478 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9480 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9481 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9482 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9483 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9484 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9486 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9487 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9488 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9489 default is @code{modeline}.
9491 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9492 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9493 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9494 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9495 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9496 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9497 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9503 The name of the poster.
9505 The @code{From} header.
9507 The number of the article.
9509 The opening bracket.
9511 The closing bracket.
9516 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9518 Variables related to the display are:
9521 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9522 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9523 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9524 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9525 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9526 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9528 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9529 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9530 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9531 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9535 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9536 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9537 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9538 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9539 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9540 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9541 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9542 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9543 other windows displayed next to it.
9545 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9549 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9550 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9553 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9554 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9555 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9556 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9557 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9558 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9559 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9563 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9566 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9576 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9580 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9581 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9583 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9585 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9590 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9591 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9592 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9595 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9596 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9597 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9598 (gnus-add-configuration
9602 (summary 0.75 point)
9607 @xref{Window Layout}.
9610 @node Mail Group Commands
9611 @section Mail Group Commands
9612 @cindex mail group commands
9614 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9615 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9617 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9618 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9623 @kindex B e (Summary)
9624 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9625 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9626 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9627 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9628 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9631 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9632 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9633 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9634 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9635 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9636 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9639 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9640 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9641 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9642 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9643 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9644 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9647 @kindex B m (Summary)
9649 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9650 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9651 Move the article from one mail group to another
9652 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9653 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9656 @kindex B c (Summary)
9658 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9659 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9660 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9661 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9662 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9665 @kindex B B (Summary)
9666 @cindex crosspost mail
9667 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9668 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9669 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9670 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9671 be properly updated.
9674 @kindex B i (Summary)
9675 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9676 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9677 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9678 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9681 @kindex B I (Summary)
9682 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9683 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9684 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9685 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9688 @kindex B r (Summary)
9689 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9690 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9691 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9692 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9693 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9694 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9695 (which is the default).
9699 @kindex B w (Summary)
9701 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9702 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9703 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9704 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9705 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9706 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9707 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9710 @kindex B q (Summary)
9711 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9712 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9713 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9714 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9717 @kindex B t (Summary)
9718 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9719 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9720 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9723 @kindex B p (Summary)
9724 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9725 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9726 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9727 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9728 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9729 article from your news server (or rather, from
9730 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9731 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9732 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9733 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9734 just not have arrived yet.
9737 @kindex K E (Summary)
9738 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9739 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9740 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9741 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9742 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9746 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9747 @cindex moving articles
9748 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9749 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9750 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9751 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9752 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9753 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9754 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9757 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9758 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9759 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9760 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9764 @node Various Summary Stuff
9765 @section Various Summary Stuff
9768 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9769 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9770 * Summary Generation Commands::
9771 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9775 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9776 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9777 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9779 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9780 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9781 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9782 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9783 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9784 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9787 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9788 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9789 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9790 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9791 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9793 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9794 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9795 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9798 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9799 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9800 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9801 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9802 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9803 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9804 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9805 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9806 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9807 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9809 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9810 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9811 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9812 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9813 list of articles to be selected.
9815 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9816 the list in one particular group:
9819 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9820 (if (string= group "some.group")
9821 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9825 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9826 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9827 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9828 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9829 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9830 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9831 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9832 buffers. For example:
9835 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9836 '(message-use-followup-to
9837 (gnus-visible-headers .
9838 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9844 @node Summary Group Information
9845 @subsection Summary Group Information
9850 @kindex H f (Summary)
9851 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9852 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9853 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9854 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9855 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9856 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9857 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9858 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9859 be used for fetching the file.
9862 @kindex H d (Summary)
9863 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9864 Give a brief description of the current group
9865 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9866 rereading the description from the server.
9869 @kindex H h (Summary)
9870 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9871 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9872 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9875 @kindex H i (Summary)
9876 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9877 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9881 @node Searching for Articles
9882 @subsection Searching for Articles
9887 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9888 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9889 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9890 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9893 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9894 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9895 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9896 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9900 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9901 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9902 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9903 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9904 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9905 search backward instead.
9907 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9908 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9911 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9912 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9913 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9914 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9917 @node Summary Generation Commands
9918 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9923 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9924 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9925 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9928 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9930 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9931 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9934 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9935 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9936 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9937 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
9942 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9943 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9949 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9950 @kindex A D (Summary)
9951 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9952 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9953 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9954 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9955 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9956 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9957 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9958 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9962 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9963 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9964 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9965 several documents into one biiig group
9966 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9967 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9968 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9969 command understands the process/prefix convention
9970 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9973 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9974 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9975 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9976 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9977 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9978 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9982 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9983 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9984 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9987 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9988 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9989 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9990 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9993 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9994 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9995 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9996 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10001 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10002 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10003 @cindex summary exit
10004 @cindex exiting groups
10006 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10007 group and return you to the group buffer.
10013 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10014 @kindex q (Summary)
10015 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10016 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10017 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10018 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10019 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10020 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10021 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10022 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10023 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10024 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10025 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10029 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10030 @kindex Q (Summary)
10031 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10032 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10033 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10037 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10038 @kindex c (Summary)
10039 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10040 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10041 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10042 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10045 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10046 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10047 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10048 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10051 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10052 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10053 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10054 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10057 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10058 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10059 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10060 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10061 all articles, both read and unread.
10065 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10066 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10067 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10068 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10069 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10070 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10071 articles, both read and unread.
10074 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10075 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10076 Exit the group and go to the next group
10077 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10080 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10081 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10082 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10083 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10086 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10087 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10088 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10089 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10090 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10091 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10094 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10095 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10096 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10097 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10099 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10100 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10101 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10102 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10103 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10104 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10105 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10106 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10107 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10108 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10109 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10110 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10112 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10114 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10115 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10116 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10117 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10118 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10119 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10120 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10121 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10122 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10125 @node Crosspost Handling
10126 @section Crosspost Handling
10130 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10131 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10132 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10133 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10134 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10135 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10138 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10139 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10140 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10141 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10142 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10144 @cindex cross-posting
10147 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10148 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10149 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10150 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10151 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10152 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10153 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10154 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10155 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10156 the cross reference mechanism.
10158 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10159 @cindex overview.fmt
10160 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10161 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10162 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10163 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10164 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10165 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10168 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10169 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10170 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10175 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10178 @node Duplicate Suppression
10179 @section Duplicate Suppression
10181 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10182 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10183 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10184 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10189 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10190 is evil and not very common.
10193 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10194 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10197 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10198 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10201 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10204 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10205 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10207 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10208 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10209 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10210 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10211 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10212 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10213 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10216 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10217 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10218 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10219 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10220 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10221 saw the article in.
10224 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10225 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10226 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10228 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10229 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10230 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10231 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10232 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10233 session are suppressed.
10235 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10236 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10237 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10238 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10240 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10241 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10242 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10243 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10246 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10247 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10248 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10249 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10250 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10251 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10252 to you to figure out, I think.
10257 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10258 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10259 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10263 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10264 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10267 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10268 or newer is recommended.
10272 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10273 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10276 @item mm-verify-option
10277 @vindex mm-verify-option
10278 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10279 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10280 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10282 @item mm-decrypt-option
10283 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10284 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10285 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10286 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10291 @section Mailing List
10293 @kindex A M (summary)
10294 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10295 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10296 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10297 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10298 summary buffer, or say:
10301 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10304 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10309 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10310 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10311 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10314 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10315 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10316 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10319 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10320 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10321 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10325 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10326 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10327 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10330 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10331 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10332 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10335 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10336 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10337 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10341 @node Article Buffer
10342 @chapter Article Buffer
10343 @cindex article buffer
10345 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10346 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10347 tell Gnus otherwise.
10350 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10351 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10352 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10353 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10354 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10358 @node Hiding Headers
10359 @section Hiding Headers
10360 @cindex hiding headers
10361 @cindex deleting headers
10363 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10364 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10366 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10367 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10368 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10369 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10370 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10371 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10372 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10373 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10374 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10376 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10380 @item gnus-visible-headers
10381 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10382 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10383 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10384 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10386 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10387 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10390 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10393 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10396 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10397 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10398 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10399 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10400 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10401 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10403 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10404 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10407 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10410 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10413 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10414 variable will have no effect.
10418 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10419 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10420 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10421 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10422 the headers are to be displayed.
10424 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10425 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10428 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10431 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10432 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10434 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10435 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10436 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10437 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10438 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10439 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10440 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10443 These conditions are:
10446 Remove all empty headers.
10448 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10449 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10451 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10452 @code{From} header.
10454 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10457 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10458 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10460 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10463 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10465 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10468 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10471 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10472 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10475 This is also the default value for this variable.
10479 @section Using MIME
10482 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10483 while people stand around yawning.
10485 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10486 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10488 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10489 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10490 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10492 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10493 @findex gnus-display-mime
10494 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10495 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10496 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10497 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10499 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10503 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10504 @item RET (Article)
10505 @kindex RET (Article)
10506 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10507 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10508 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10509 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10510 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10511 object is displayed inline.
10513 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10514 @item M-RET (Article)
10515 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10517 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10518 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10520 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10522 @kindex t (Article)
10523 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10524 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10526 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10528 @kindex C (Article)
10529 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10530 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10532 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10534 @kindex o (Article)
10535 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10536 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10538 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10539 @item C-o (Article)
10540 @kindex C-o (Article)
10541 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10542 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10543 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10544 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10545 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10546 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10548 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10550 @kindex c (Article)
10551 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10552 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10554 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10556 @kindex p (Article)
10557 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10558 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10559 @file{.mailcap} file.
10561 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10563 @kindex i (Article)
10564 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10565 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10566 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10567 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10568 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10571 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10573 @kindex E (Article)
10574 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10575 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10576 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10578 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10580 @kindex e (Article)
10581 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10582 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10584 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10586 @kindex | (Article)
10587 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10589 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10591 @kindex . (Article)
10592 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10593 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10597 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10598 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10601 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10602 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10603 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10604 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10605 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10606 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10607 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10608 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10609 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10611 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10613 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10616 @node Customizing Articles
10617 @section Customizing Articles
10618 @cindex article customization
10620 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10621 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10622 called automatically when you select the articles.
10624 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10625 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10626 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10627 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10629 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10630 for sensible values.
10634 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10637 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10640 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10643 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10646 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10650 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10651 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10652 regexps in the list.
10655 A list where the first element is not a string:
10657 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10658 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10659 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10663 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10668 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10669 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10670 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10671 considered to contain just a single part.
10673 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10674 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10675 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10676 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10677 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10678 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10679 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10681 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10682 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10683 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10684 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10687 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10688 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10690 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10692 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10693 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10694 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10695 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10696 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10697 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10698 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10699 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10700 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10701 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10702 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10704 @xref{Article Washing}.
10706 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10707 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10708 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10709 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10710 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10711 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10712 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10714 @xref{Article Date}.
10716 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10717 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10718 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10722 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10724 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10726 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10727 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10728 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10732 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10736 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10737 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10738 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10739 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10740 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10741 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10742 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10743 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10745 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10747 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10748 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10749 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10751 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10753 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10754 @item gnus-treat-translate
10755 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10757 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10758 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10759 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10760 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10762 @xref{Article Header}.
10767 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10768 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10769 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10770 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10771 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10775 @node Article Keymap
10776 @section Article Keymap
10778 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10779 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10780 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10781 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10784 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10789 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10790 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10791 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10794 @kindex DEL (Article)
10795 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10796 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10799 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10800 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10801 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10802 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10803 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10806 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10807 @findex gnus-article-mail
10808 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10809 given a prefix, include the mail.
10812 @kindex s (Article)
10813 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10814 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10815 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10818 @kindex ? (Article)
10819 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10820 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10821 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10824 @kindex TAB (Article)
10825 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10826 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10827 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10830 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10831 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10832 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10835 @kindex R (Article)
10836 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10837 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10838 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10839 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10843 @kindex F (Article)
10844 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10845 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10846 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10847 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10855 @section Misc Article
10859 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10860 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10861 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10862 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10865 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10866 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10868 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10869 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10871 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10872 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10873 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10874 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10875 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10876 the contents of the article buffer.
10878 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10879 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10880 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10882 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10883 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10884 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10885 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10887 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10888 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10889 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10890 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10891 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10897 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10898 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10899 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10904 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10907 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10910 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10911 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10912 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10915 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10918 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10921 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10926 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10930 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10932 @item gnus-break-pages
10933 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10934 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10935 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10936 paging will not be done.
10938 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10939 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10940 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10945 @node Composing Messages
10946 @chapter Composing Messages
10947 @cindex composing messages
10950 @cindex sending mail
10955 @cindex using s/mime
10956 @cindex using smime
10958 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10959 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10960 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10961 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10962 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10963 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10966 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10967 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10968 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10969 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10970 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10971 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10972 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10973 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10976 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10977 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10983 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10986 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10987 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10988 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10989 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
10990 @code{nil} include all headers.
10992 @item gnus-add-to-list
10993 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10994 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10995 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10997 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10998 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10999 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11000 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11001 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11002 confirmation is should be asked for.
11004 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11005 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11007 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11008 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11009 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11010 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11011 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11016 @node Posting Server
11017 @section Posting Server
11019 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11020 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11022 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11024 It can be quite complicated.
11026 @vindex gnus-post-method
11027 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11028 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11029 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11030 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11031 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11032 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11033 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11034 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11035 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11038 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11041 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11042 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11043 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11044 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11046 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11047 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11049 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11050 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11053 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11054 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11056 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11057 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11058 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11059 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11060 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11061 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11062 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11063 package correctly. An example:
11066 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11067 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11070 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11071 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11072 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11074 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11075 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11076 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11078 @node Mail and Post
11079 @section Mail and Post
11081 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11085 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11086 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11087 @cindex mailing lists
11089 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11090 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11091 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11092 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11093 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11094 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11095 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11096 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11097 still a pain, though.
11101 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11102 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11103 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11106 @findex ispell-message
11108 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11111 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11112 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11115 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11119 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11120 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11122 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11125 Modify to suit your needs.
11128 @node Archived Messages
11129 @section Archived Messages
11130 @cindex archived messages
11131 @cindex sent messages
11133 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11134 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11135 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11136 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11139 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11140 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11143 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11144 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11145 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11148 (nnfolder "archive"
11149 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11150 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11151 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11152 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11155 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11156 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11157 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11158 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11161 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11162 '(nnfolder "archive"
11163 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11164 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11165 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11168 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11170 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11171 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11172 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11174 This variable can be used to do the following:
11179 Messages will be saved in that group.
11181 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11182 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11183 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11184 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11185 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11186 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11187 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11188 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11192 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11194 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11195 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11198 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11203 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11205 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11208 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11210 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11213 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11215 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11216 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11217 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11218 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11221 More complex stuff:
11223 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11224 '((if (message-news-p)
11229 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11230 messages in one file per month:
11233 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11234 '((if (message-news-p)
11236 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11239 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11240 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11242 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11243 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11244 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11245 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11246 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11247 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11248 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11249 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11250 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11251 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11253 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11254 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11255 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11256 this will disable archiving.
11259 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11260 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11261 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11262 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11263 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11266 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11267 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11268 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11271 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11272 but the latter is the preferred method.
11274 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11275 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11276 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11278 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11279 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11280 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11281 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11282 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11283 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11284 changed in the future.
11289 @node Posting Styles
11290 @section Posting Styles
11291 @cindex posting styles
11294 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11296 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11297 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11298 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11301 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11302 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11303 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11304 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11305 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11310 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11311 (organization "What me?"))
11313 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11314 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11315 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11318 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11319 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11320 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11321 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11322 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11323 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11324 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11325 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11327 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11328 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11329 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11330 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11331 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. (There original article is the
11332 one you are replying or following up to. If you are not composing a
11333 reply or a followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11334 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with no
11335 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11336 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11337 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
11340 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11341 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11342 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11343 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11344 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11345 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11346 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11347 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11348 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11349 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11352 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11353 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11354 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11355 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11356 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11357 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11358 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11359 references chars lines xref extra.
11361 @vindex message-reply-headers
11363 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11364 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11365 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11367 @findex message-mail-p
11368 @findex message-news-p
11370 So here's a new example:
11373 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11375 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11377 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11378 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11380 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11381 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11382 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11383 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11384 (signature my-news-signature))
11385 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11386 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11387 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11388 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11389 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11390 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11391 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11392 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11393 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11394 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11396 (From (save-excursion
11397 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11398 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11400 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11403 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11404 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11405 if you fill many roles.
11412 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11413 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11414 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11415 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11416 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11418 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11419 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11420 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11421 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11422 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11426 @vindex nndraft-directory
11427 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11428 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11429 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11430 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11431 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11432 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11434 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11435 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11438 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11439 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11440 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11441 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11442 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11443 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11444 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11445 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11446 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11447 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11448 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11449 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11450 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11451 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11453 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11454 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11455 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11457 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11458 @kindex D e (Draft)
11459 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11460 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11461 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11463 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11466 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11467 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11468 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11469 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11470 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11471 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11472 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11475 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11476 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11477 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11480 @node Rejected Articles
11481 @section Rejected Articles
11482 @cindex rejected articles
11484 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11485 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11486 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11487 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11489 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11490 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11491 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11492 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11493 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11495 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11496 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11497 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11499 @node Signing and encrypting
11500 @section Signing and encrypting
11502 @cindex using s/mime
11503 @cindex using smime
11505 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11506 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11507 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11508 (@pxref{Security}).
11510 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11511 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11512 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11514 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11515 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11516 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11517 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11518 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11519 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11520 automatically encrypted messages.
11522 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11523 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11524 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11529 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11530 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11532 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11535 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11536 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11538 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11541 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11542 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11544 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11547 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11548 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11550 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11553 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11554 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11556 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11559 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11560 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11562 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11565 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11566 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11567 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11571 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11573 @node Select Methods
11574 @chapter Select Methods
11575 @cindex foreign groups
11576 @cindex select methods
11578 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11579 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11580 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11581 personal mail group.
11583 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11584 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11585 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11586 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11587 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11588 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11590 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11591 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11593 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11596 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11597 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11598 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11599 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11600 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11602 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11605 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11606 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11607 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11608 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11609 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11610 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11611 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11612 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11616 @node Server Buffer
11617 @section Server Buffer
11619 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11620 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11621 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11622 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11623 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11624 back end represents a virtual server.
11626 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11627 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11628 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11629 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11631 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11632 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11633 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11634 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11635 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11636 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11637 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11639 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11640 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11643 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11644 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11645 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11646 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11647 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11648 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11649 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11652 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11653 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11656 @node Server Buffer Format
11657 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11658 @cindex server buffer format
11660 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11661 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11662 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11663 variable, with some simple extensions:
11668 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11671 The name of this server.
11674 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11677 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11680 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11681 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11682 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11683 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11693 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11696 @node Server Commands
11697 @subsection Server Commands
11698 @cindex server commands
11704 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11705 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11709 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11710 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11713 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11714 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11715 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11719 @findex gnus-server-exit
11720 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11724 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11725 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11729 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11730 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11734 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11735 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11739 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11740 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11744 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11745 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11746 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11751 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11752 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11753 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11754 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11759 @node Example Methods
11760 @subsection Example Methods
11762 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11765 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11768 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11774 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11775 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11778 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11779 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11781 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11782 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11786 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11789 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11790 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11792 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11793 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11794 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11798 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11801 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11804 Here's the method for a public spool:
11808 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11809 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11815 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11816 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11817 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11818 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11819 should probably look something like this:
11823 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11824 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11825 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11826 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11829 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11830 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11831 configuration to the example above:
11834 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11837 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11839 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11840 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11841 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11845 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11846 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11847 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11848 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11851 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11852 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11853 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11854 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11857 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11858 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11860 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11861 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11863 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11864 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11865 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11867 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11869 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11870 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11871 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11872 will contain the following:
11882 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11883 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11884 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11887 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11888 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11889 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11892 @node Server Variables
11893 @subsection Server Variables
11895 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11896 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11897 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11898 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11899 won't change the "derived" variables.
11901 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11902 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11903 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11904 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11905 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11906 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11907 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11908 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11909 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11913 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11914 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11915 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11919 @node Servers and Methods
11920 @subsection Servers and Methods
11922 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11923 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11924 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11925 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11929 @node Unavailable Servers
11930 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11932 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11933 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11934 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11935 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11936 actually the case or not.
11938 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11939 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11940 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11941 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11942 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11943 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11944 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11945 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11947 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11948 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11950 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11951 with the following commands:
11957 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11958 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11959 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11963 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11964 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11965 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11969 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11970 Mark the current server as unreachable
11971 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11974 @kindex M-o (Server)
11975 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11976 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11977 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11980 @kindex M-c (Server)
11981 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11982 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11983 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11987 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11988 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11989 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11993 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11994 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12000 @section Getting News
12001 @cindex reading news
12002 @cindex news back ends
12004 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12005 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12006 or it can read from a local spool.
12009 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12010 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12018 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12019 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12020 server as the, uhm, address.
12022 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12023 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12024 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12025 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12027 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12028 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12029 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12031 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12036 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12037 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12038 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12040 @cindex authentification
12041 @cindex nntp authentification
12042 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12043 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12044 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12045 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12046 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12047 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12048 present in this hook.
12050 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12051 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12052 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12053 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12054 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12055 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12056 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12057 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12058 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12059 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12060 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12061 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12065 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12068 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12070 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12071 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12072 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12073 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12074 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12075 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12076 @samp{force} is explained below.
12080 Here's an example file:
12083 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12084 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12087 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12088 have to be first, for instance.
12090 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12091 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12092 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12093 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12094 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12095 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12096 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12098 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12099 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12105 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12106 previously mentioned.
12108 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12110 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12111 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12112 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12113 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12114 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12117 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12118 '(("innd" (ding))))
12121 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12123 The default value is
12126 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12127 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12128 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12131 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12132 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12134 @item nntp-maximum-request
12135 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12136 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12137 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12138 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12139 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12140 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12141 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12143 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12144 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12145 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12146 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12147 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12148 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12149 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12150 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12151 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12152 no timeouts are done.
12154 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12155 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12156 @c @cindex PPP connections
12157 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12158 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12159 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12160 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12161 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12162 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12163 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12164 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12165 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12166 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12168 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12169 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12170 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12171 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12172 @c described above.
12174 @item nntp-server-hook
12175 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12176 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12179 @item nntp-buggy-select
12180 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12181 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12183 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12184 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12185 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12186 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12189 @item nntp-xover-commands
12190 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12193 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12194 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12198 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12199 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12200 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12201 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12202 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12203 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12204 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12205 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12206 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12207 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12208 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12210 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12211 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12212 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12214 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12215 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12216 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12217 server closes connection.
12219 @item nntp-record-commands
12220 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12221 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12222 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12223 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12224 that doesn't seem to work.
12226 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12227 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12228 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12229 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12230 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12231 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12232 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12233 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12235 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12236 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12237 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12238 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12239 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12240 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12241 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12244 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12247 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12248 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12252 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12253 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12254 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12258 @node Direct Functions
12259 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12260 @cindex direct connection functions
12262 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12263 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12264 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12265 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12268 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12269 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12270 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12273 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12274 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12275 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12276 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12277 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12278 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12279 define a server as follows:
12282 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12284 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12285 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12287 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12288 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12289 (nntp-port-number 563)
12290 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12293 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12294 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12295 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12296 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12297 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12298 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12299 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12300 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12304 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12305 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12306 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12309 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12310 session, which is not a good idea.
12314 @node Indirect Functions
12315 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12316 @cindex indirect connection functions
12318 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12319 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12320 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12321 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12322 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12323 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12326 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12327 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12328 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12329 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12330 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12332 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12335 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12336 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12337 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12338 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12340 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12341 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12342 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12343 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12344 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12345 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12346 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12347 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12350 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12351 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12352 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12353 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12355 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12358 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12359 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12360 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12363 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12364 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12365 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12366 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12368 @item nntp-via-user-password
12369 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12370 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12372 @item nntp-via-envuser
12373 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12374 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12375 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12376 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12378 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12379 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12380 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12381 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12388 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12393 @item nntp-via-user-name
12394 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12395 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12397 @item nntp-via-address
12398 @vindex nntp-via-address
12399 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12404 @node Common Variables
12405 @subsubsection Common Variables
12407 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12408 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12413 @item nntp-pre-command
12414 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12415 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12416 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12417 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12418 wrapper for instance.
12421 @vindex nntp-address
12422 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12424 @item nntp-port-number
12425 @vindex nntp-port-number
12426 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12427 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12428 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12429 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12431 @item nntp-end-of-line
12432 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12433 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12434 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12435 using a non native connection function.
12437 @item nntp-telnet-command
12438 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12439 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12440 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12441 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12443 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12444 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12445 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12452 @subsection News Spool
12456 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12457 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12458 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12461 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12462 anything else) as the address.
12464 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12465 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12466 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12467 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12471 @item nnspool-inews-program
12472 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12473 Program used to post an article.
12475 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12476 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12477 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12479 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12480 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12481 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12482 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12484 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12485 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12486 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12487 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12489 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12490 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12491 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12493 @item nnspool-active-file
12494 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12495 The path to the active file.
12497 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12498 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12499 The path to the group descriptions file.
12501 @item nnspool-history-file
12502 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12503 The path to the news history file.
12505 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12506 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12507 The path to the active date file.
12509 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12510 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12511 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12514 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12515 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12517 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12518 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12519 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12525 @section Getting Mail
12526 @cindex reading mail
12529 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12533 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12534 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12535 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12536 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12537 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12538 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12539 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12540 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12541 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12542 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12543 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12544 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12545 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12549 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12550 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12552 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12553 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12554 of a culture shock.
12556 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12557 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12559 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12560 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12561 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12562 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12564 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12566 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12567 deleted? How awful!
12569 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12570 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12571 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12572 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12575 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12576 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12577 they want to treat a message.
12579 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12580 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12581 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12582 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12583 archived somewhere else.
12585 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12586 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12587 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12588 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12589 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12591 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12592 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12593 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12595 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12596 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12599 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12600 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12601 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12602 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12603 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12605 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12606 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12607 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12608 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12609 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12610 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12614 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12615 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12617 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12618 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12619 and things will happen automatically.
12621 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12622 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12625 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12628 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12629 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12630 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12631 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12632 like any other group.
12634 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12637 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12638 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12639 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12643 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12644 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12645 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12648 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12649 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12650 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12653 @node Splitting Mail
12654 @subsection Splitting Mail
12655 @cindex splitting mail
12656 @cindex mail splitting
12658 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12659 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12660 to be split into groups.
12663 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12664 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12665 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12666 ("mail.other" "")))
12669 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12670 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12671 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12672 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12673 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12674 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12675 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12678 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12681 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12682 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12683 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12684 mail belongs in that group.
12686 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12687 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12688 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12689 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12690 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12691 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12693 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12694 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12695 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12696 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12697 thinks should carry this mail message.
12699 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12700 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12701 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12702 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12704 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12705 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12706 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12707 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12708 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12710 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12713 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12714 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12715 links. If that's the case for you, set
12716 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12717 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12719 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12720 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12721 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12722 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12723 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12724 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12727 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12728 Header lines longer than the value of
12729 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12732 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12733 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12734 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12735 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12736 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12737 can be turned off completely by binding
12738 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12739 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12741 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12742 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12743 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12744 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12745 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12746 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12747 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12750 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12751 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12752 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12753 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12754 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12755 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12756 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12757 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12758 month's rent money.
12762 @subsection Mail Sources
12764 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12765 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12769 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12770 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12771 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12775 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12776 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12778 @cindex mail server
12781 @cindex mail source
12783 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12784 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12789 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12792 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12793 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12794 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12797 The following mail source types are available:
12801 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12807 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12808 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12809 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12812 An example file mail source:
12815 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12818 Or using the default path:
12824 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12825 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12826 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12829 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12833 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12836 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12840 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12843 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12845 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12848 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12852 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12853 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12854 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12855 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12856 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12857 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12858 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12859 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12860 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12861 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12863 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12864 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12865 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12866 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12872 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12876 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12880 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12881 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12882 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12883 predicate are considered.
12887 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12891 An example directory mail source:
12894 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12899 Get mail from a POP server.
12905 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12906 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12909 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12910 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12911 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12912 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12913 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12916 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12920 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12924 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12925 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12928 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12931 The valid format specifier characters are:
12935 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12936 included in this string.
12939 The name of the server.
12942 The port number of the server.
12945 The user name to use.
12948 The password to use.
12951 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12952 corresponding keywords.
12955 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12956 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12959 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12960 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12963 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12964 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12967 @item :authentication
12968 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12969 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12974 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12975 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12977 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12978 default user name, and default fetcher:
12984 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12987 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12988 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12991 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12994 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12998 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12999 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13000 contains exactly one mail.
13006 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13007 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13010 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13011 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13013 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13014 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13015 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13018 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13019 from locking problems).
13023 Two example maildir mail sources:
13026 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13027 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13031 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13036 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13037 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13038 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13039 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13042 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13043 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13049 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13050 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13053 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13054 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13057 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13061 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13065 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13066 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13067 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13068 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13070 @item :authentication
13071 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13072 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13073 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13074 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13077 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13078 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
13079 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13085 The valid format specifier characters are:
13089 The name of the server.
13092 User name from `imap-default-user'.
13095 The port number of the server.
13098 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13099 corresponding keywords.
13102 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13103 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13106 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13107 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13108 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13109 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13110 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13111 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13114 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13115 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13116 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13117 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13120 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13121 after finishing the fetch.
13125 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13128 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13130 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13134 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13135 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13136 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13138 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13139 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13141 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13147 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13148 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13151 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13155 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13159 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13160 folder after finishing the fetch.
13164 An example webmail source:
13167 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13169 :password "secret")
13174 @item Common Keywords
13175 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13181 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13182 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13186 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13191 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13192 useful when you use local mail and news.
13197 @subsubsection Function Interface
13199 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13200 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13201 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13202 consider the following mail-source setting:
13205 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13206 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13209 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13210 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13211 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13212 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13213 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13215 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13218 @node Mail Source Customization
13219 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13221 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13222 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13226 @item mail-source-crash-box
13227 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13228 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13229 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13231 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13232 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13233 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13235 @item mail-source-directory
13236 @vindex mail-source-directory
13237 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13238 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13239 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13242 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13243 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13244 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13245 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13246 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13247 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13249 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13250 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13251 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13253 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13254 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13255 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13256 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13261 @node Fetching Mail
13262 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13264 @vindex mail-sources
13265 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13266 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13267 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13268 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13270 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13271 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13274 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13275 mail server, you'd say something like:
13280 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13281 :password "secret")))
13284 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13288 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13289 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13292 :password "secret")))
13296 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13297 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13298 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13299 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13300 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13301 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13305 @node Mail Back End Variables
13306 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13308 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13312 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13313 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13314 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13315 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13317 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13318 @item nnmail-split-hook
13319 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13320 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13321 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13322 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13323 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13324 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13325 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13326 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13327 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13330 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13331 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13332 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13333 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13334 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13335 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13336 starting to handle the new mail) and
13337 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13338 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13339 default file modes the new mail files get:
13342 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13343 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13345 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13346 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13349 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13350 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13351 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13352 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13353 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13354 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13355 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13357 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13358 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13359 @findex delete-file
13360 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13362 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13363 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13364 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13365 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13366 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13368 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13369 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13370 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13371 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13372 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13374 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13375 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13376 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13381 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13382 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13383 @cindex mail splitting
13384 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13386 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13387 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13388 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13389 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13390 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13391 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13393 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13396 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13397 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13398 ;; from real errors.
13399 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13401 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13402 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13403 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13404 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13405 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13406 ;; Other mailing lists...
13407 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13408 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13409 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13410 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13411 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13412 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13413 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13414 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13416 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13417 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13421 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13422 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13423 the five possible split syntaxes:
13428 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13429 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13433 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13434 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13435 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13436 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13437 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13438 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13439 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13440 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13443 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13444 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13445 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13446 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13449 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13450 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13453 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13454 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13457 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13458 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13459 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13460 function should return a @var{split}.
13463 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13464 body of the messages:
13467 (defun split-on-body ()
13469 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13470 (goto-char (point-min))
13471 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13475 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13476 when the @code{:} function is run.
13479 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13480 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13481 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13485 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13489 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13490 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13491 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13492 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13493 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13495 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13496 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13497 are expanded as specified by the variable
13498 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13499 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13502 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13503 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13504 when all this splitting is performed.
13506 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13507 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13508 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13511 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13514 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13515 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13517 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13518 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13519 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13520 groupings 1 through 9.
13522 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13523 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13524 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13525 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13526 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13527 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13528 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13529 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13530 it once per thread.
13532 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13533 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13534 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13537 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13538 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13540 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13541 ;; other splits go here
13545 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13546 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13547 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13548 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13549 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13550 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13551 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13552 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13553 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13554 unless the group name matches the regexp
13555 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13556 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13557 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13558 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13559 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13560 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13561 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13562 messages goes into the new group.
13564 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13565 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13566 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13567 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13568 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13572 @node Group Mail Splitting
13573 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13574 @cindex mail splitting
13575 @cindex group mail splitting
13577 @findex gnus-group-split
13578 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13579 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13580 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13581 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13582 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13583 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13584 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13585 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13587 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13588 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13589 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13590 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13592 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13593 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13594 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13595 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13596 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13597 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13598 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13600 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13601 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13602 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13603 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13604 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13605 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13606 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13608 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13609 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13610 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13611 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13612 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13613 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13614 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13615 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13616 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13617 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13618 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13619 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13620 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13622 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13627 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13628 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13630 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13631 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13632 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13633 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13635 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13638 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13639 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13640 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13643 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13644 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13645 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13649 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13650 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13651 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13655 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13658 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13659 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13660 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13661 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13662 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13663 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13664 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13665 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13666 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13668 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13669 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13670 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13671 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13672 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13673 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13674 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13675 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13676 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13678 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13679 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13680 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13681 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13682 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13683 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13686 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13689 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13690 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13691 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13692 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13693 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13696 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13697 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13698 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13699 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13701 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13702 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13703 @cindex incorporating old mail
13704 @cindex import old mail
13706 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13707 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13708 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13711 Doing so can be quite easy.
13713 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13714 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13715 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13716 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13717 your @code{nnml} groups.
13723 Go to the group buffer.
13726 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13727 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13730 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13733 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13734 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13737 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13738 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13741 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13742 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13743 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13744 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13745 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13747 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13748 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13749 using the new mail back end.
13752 @node Expiring Mail
13753 @subsection Expiring Mail
13754 @cindex article expiry
13756 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13757 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13758 different approach to mail reading.
13760 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13761 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13762 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13763 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13764 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13765 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13768 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13769 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13770 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13771 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13772 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13773 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13774 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13775 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13776 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13778 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13779 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13780 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13781 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13782 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13783 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13784 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13787 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13788 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13789 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13790 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13791 into its own group.)
13793 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13794 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13795 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13796 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13797 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13798 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13799 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13800 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13803 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13804 Groups that match the regular expression
13805 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13806 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13807 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13809 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13810 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13811 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13812 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13813 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13815 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13817 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13818 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13819 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13822 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13823 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13824 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13825 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13826 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13828 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13829 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13832 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13833 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13836 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13837 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13839 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13840 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13841 don't really mix very well.
13843 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13844 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13845 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13846 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13849 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13850 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13851 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13852 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13855 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13857 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13859 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13861 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13863 ((string= group "important")
13869 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13870 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13872 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13873 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13874 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13877 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13878 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13880 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13881 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13882 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13883 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13884 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13885 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13886 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13887 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13888 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13889 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13890 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13891 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13892 name or @code{delete}.
13894 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13896 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13899 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13900 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13901 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13902 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13903 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13906 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13907 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13908 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13909 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13910 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13913 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13914 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13915 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13916 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13917 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13918 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13920 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13921 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13922 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13923 easier for procmail users.
13925 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13926 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13927 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13928 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13929 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13930 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13931 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13932 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13933 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13934 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13935 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13936 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13937 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13940 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13942 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13943 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13944 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13945 auto-expire turned on.
13949 @subsection Washing Mail
13950 @cindex mail washing
13951 @cindex list server brain damage
13952 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13954 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13955 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13956 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13957 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13958 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13959 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13961 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13962 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13963 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13966 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13967 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13968 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13969 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13972 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13973 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13974 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13975 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13976 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13979 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13980 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13981 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13982 Emacs running on MS machines.
13986 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13987 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13988 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13989 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13992 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13993 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13994 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13995 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13997 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13998 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13999 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14000 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14001 into a feature by documenting it.)
14003 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14004 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14005 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14006 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14007 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14008 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14009 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14012 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14013 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14016 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14017 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14020 This can also be done non-destructively with
14021 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14023 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14024 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14025 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14027 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14028 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14030 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14031 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14032 @code{References} headers.
14036 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14037 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14038 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14042 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14043 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14044 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14051 @subsection Duplicates
14053 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14054 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14055 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14056 @cindex duplicate mails
14057 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14058 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14059 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14060 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14061 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14062 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14063 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14064 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14065 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14066 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14067 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14068 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14069 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14071 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14072 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14073 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14074 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14076 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14079 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14080 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14084 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14085 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14086 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14087 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14088 (any mail "mail.misc")
14095 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14096 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14101 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14102 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14103 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14104 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14105 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14108 @node Not Reading Mail
14109 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14111 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14112 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14113 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14115 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14116 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14117 mail, which should help.
14119 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14120 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14121 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14122 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14123 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14124 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14125 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14126 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14127 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14128 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14129 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14131 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14132 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14136 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14137 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14139 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14140 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14141 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14143 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14144 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14145 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14146 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14147 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14148 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14149 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14152 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14153 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14154 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14155 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14156 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14157 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14161 @node Unix Mail Box
14162 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14164 @cindex unix mail box
14166 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14167 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14168 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14169 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14170 which group it belongs in.
14172 Virtual server settings:
14175 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14176 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14177 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14180 @item nnmbox-active-file
14181 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14182 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14183 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14185 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14186 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14187 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14188 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14193 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14197 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14198 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14199 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14200 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14201 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14203 Virtual server settings:
14206 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14207 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14208 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14210 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14211 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14212 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14213 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14215 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14216 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14217 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14223 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14225 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14227 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14228 format. It should be used with some caution.
14230 @vindex nnml-directory
14231 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14232 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14233 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14234 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14236 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14239 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14240 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14241 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14242 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14243 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14244 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14245 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14246 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14248 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14249 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14250 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14251 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14253 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14255 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14256 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14257 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14258 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14259 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14260 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14261 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14262 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14265 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14266 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14267 them next time it starts.
14269 Virtual server settings:
14272 @item nnml-directory
14273 @vindex nnml-directory
14274 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14275 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14278 @item nnml-active-file
14279 @vindex nnml-active-file
14280 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14281 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14283 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14284 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14285 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14286 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14288 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14289 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14290 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14293 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14294 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14295 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14296 default is @code{nil}.
14298 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14299 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14300 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14302 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14303 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14304 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14306 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14307 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14308 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14309 default is @code{nil}.
14311 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14312 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14313 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14315 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14316 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14317 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14322 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14323 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14324 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14325 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14326 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14327 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14328 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14333 @subsubsection MH Spool
14335 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14337 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14338 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14339 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14340 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14342 Virtual server settings:
14345 @item nnmh-directory
14346 @vindex nnmh-directory
14347 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14348 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14351 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14352 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14353 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14357 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14358 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14359 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14360 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14361 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14362 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14363 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14368 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14370 @cindex mbox folders
14371 @cindex mail folders
14373 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14374 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14375 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14378 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14380 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14381 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14382 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14383 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14384 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14385 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14386 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14387 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14388 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14389 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14391 Virtual server settings:
14394 @item nnfolder-directory
14395 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14396 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14397 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14400 @item nnfolder-active-file
14401 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14402 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14404 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14405 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14406 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14407 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14409 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14410 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14411 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14414 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14415 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14416 @cindex backup files
14417 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14418 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14419 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14420 your @file{.emacs} file:
14423 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14424 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14426 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14429 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14430 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14431 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14432 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14433 extract some information from it before removing it.
14435 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14436 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14437 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14438 default is @code{nil}.
14440 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14441 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14442 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14444 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14445 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14446 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14447 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14449 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14450 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14451 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14452 default is @code{nil}.
14454 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14455 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14456 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14458 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14459 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14460 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14461 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14466 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14467 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14468 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14469 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14470 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14471 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14474 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14475 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14477 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14478 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14479 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14480 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14481 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14483 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14484 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14485 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14486 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14487 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14488 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14489 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14490 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14493 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14494 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14495 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14496 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14501 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14502 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14503 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14504 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14505 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14506 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14507 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14508 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14509 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14510 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14511 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14512 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14513 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14518 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14519 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14520 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14521 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14522 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14523 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14524 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14525 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14526 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14527 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14528 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14529 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14530 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14531 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14533 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14534 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14539 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14540 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14541 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14542 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14543 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14544 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14545 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14546 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14547 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14548 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14549 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14550 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14551 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14552 provided by the active file and overviews.
14554 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14555 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14556 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14557 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14558 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14561 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14562 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14567 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14568 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14569 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14570 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14571 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14572 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14573 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14577 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14578 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14579 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14580 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14581 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14582 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14583 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14584 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14585 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14587 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14588 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14589 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14590 friendly mail back end all over.
14594 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14595 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14596 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14597 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14598 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14599 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14600 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14601 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14604 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14605 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14606 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14607 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14608 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14609 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14610 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14611 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14612 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14613 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14614 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14616 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14617 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14618 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14619 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14620 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14621 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14622 This will probably be changed in the future.
14624 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14625 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14626 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14627 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14628 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14631 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14632 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14634 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14635 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14636 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14637 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14638 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14639 would) to make it use less memory.
14641 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14642 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14643 depending in part on your file system.
14645 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14646 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14651 @node Browsing the Web
14652 @section Browsing the Web
14654 @cindex browsing the web
14658 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14659 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14660 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14661 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14662 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14663 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14664 even know what a news group is.
14666 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14667 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14668 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14669 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14670 you mad in the end.
14672 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14675 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14676 interfaces to these sources.
14680 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14681 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14682 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14683 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14684 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14685 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14688 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14690 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14691 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14692 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14693 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14694 though, you should be ok.
14696 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14697 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14698 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14699 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14700 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14702 @node Archiving Mail
14703 @subsection Archiving Mail
14704 @cindex archiving mail
14705 @cindex backup of mail
14707 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14708 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14709 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14710 marks is fairly simple.
14712 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14713 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14716 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14717 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14718 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14719 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14720 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14721 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14722 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14723 before you restore the data.
14725 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14726 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14727 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14728 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14729 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14730 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14731 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14732 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14733 is unnecessary in that case.
14736 @subsection Web Searches
14741 @cindex Usenet searches
14742 @cindex searching the Usenet
14744 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14745 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14746 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14747 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14748 searches without having to use a browser.
14750 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14751 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14752 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14753 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14754 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14756 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14757 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14758 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14759 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14760 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14761 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14762 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14763 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14764 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14765 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14768 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14769 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14770 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14771 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14772 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14773 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14775 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14776 to use @code{nnweb}.
14778 Virtual server variables:
14783 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14784 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14785 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14788 @vindex nnweb-search
14789 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14791 @item nnweb-max-hits
14792 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14793 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14796 @item nnweb-type-definition
14797 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14798 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14799 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14804 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14808 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14811 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14814 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14818 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14825 @subsection Slashdot
14829 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14830 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14831 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14833 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14834 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14837 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14838 '((nnslashdot "")))
14841 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14842 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14843 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14844 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14845 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14848 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14849 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14851 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14852 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14853 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14854 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14855 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14856 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14859 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14862 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14863 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14864 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14865 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14866 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14867 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14868 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14870 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14871 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14872 The login name to use when posting.
14874 @item nnslashdot-password
14875 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14876 The password to use when posting.
14878 @item nnslashdot-directory
14879 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14880 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14881 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14883 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14884 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14885 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14886 news articles and comments. The default is
14887 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14889 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14890 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14891 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14893 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14895 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14896 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14897 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14899 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14901 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14902 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14903 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14905 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14906 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14907 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14908 updated. The default is 0.
14915 @subsection Ultimate
14917 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14919 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14920 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14921 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14922 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14924 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14925 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14926 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14927 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14928 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14929 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14930 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14932 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14935 @item nnultimate-directory
14936 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14937 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14938 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14943 @subsection Web Archive
14945 @cindex Web Archive
14947 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14948 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14949 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14950 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14953 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14954 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14955 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14956 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14957 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14958 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14959 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14961 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14964 @item nnwarchive-directory
14965 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14966 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14967 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14969 @item nnwarchive-login
14970 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14971 The account name on the web server.
14973 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14974 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14975 The password for your account on the web server.
14983 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14984 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14985 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14988 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14989 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14992 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14995 @item nnrss-directory
14996 @vindex nnrss-directory
14997 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14998 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
15002 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15003 the summary buffer.
15006 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15007 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15009 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15011 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15012 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15015 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15018 (require 'browse-url)
15020 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15022 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15025 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15026 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15029 (browse-url (cdr url))
15030 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15031 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15033 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15034 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15035 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15036 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15039 @node Customizing w3
15040 @subsection Customizing w3
15046 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15047 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15048 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15050 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15051 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15052 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15055 (eval-after-load "w3"
15057 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15058 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15059 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15060 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15062 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15065 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15066 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15075 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
15076 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15077 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15078 specify the network address of the server.
15080 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15081 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15082 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15083 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15084 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15086 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15087 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15088 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15089 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15091 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15092 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15093 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15094 usage explained in this section.
15096 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15097 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15098 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15101 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15102 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15103 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15105 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15106 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15107 ; a UW server running on localhost
15109 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15110 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15111 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15112 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15113 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15114 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15115 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15116 (nnimap-stream network))
15117 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15119 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15120 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15121 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15124 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15129 @item nnimap-address
15130 @vindex nnimap-address
15132 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15133 server name if not specified.
15135 @item nnimap-server-port
15136 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15137 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15139 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15142 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15143 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15146 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15147 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15148 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15149 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15150 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15151 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15152 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15154 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15155 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15156 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15159 Example server specification:
15162 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15163 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15164 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15167 @item nnimap-stream
15168 @vindex nnimap-stream
15169 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15170 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15171 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15172 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15174 Example server specification:
15177 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15178 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15181 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15185 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15186 @samp{imtest} program.
15188 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15190 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15191 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15194 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15195 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15196 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15198 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15200 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15203 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15204 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15205 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15206 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15207 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15208 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15209 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15210 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15211 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15214 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15215 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15216 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15217 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15218 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15219 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15220 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15221 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15222 distribution, for instance).
15224 @vindex imap-shell-program
15225 @vindex imap-shell-host
15226 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15227 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15229 @item nnimap-authenticator
15230 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15232 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15233 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15235 Example server specification:
15238 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15239 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15242 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15246 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15247 external program @code{imtest}.
15249 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15252 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15253 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15255 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15257 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15259 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15262 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15264 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15265 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15266 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15267 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15268 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15269 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15272 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15273 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15274 running in circles yet?
15276 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15277 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15280 The possible options are:
15285 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15288 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15289 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15290 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15291 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15293 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15298 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15299 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15301 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15302 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15303 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15304 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15305 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15308 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15309 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15312 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15313 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15314 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15315 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15318 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15319 as ticked for other users.
15321 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15323 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15325 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15326 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15327 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15328 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15330 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15331 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15332 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15333 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15335 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15336 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15338 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15339 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15340 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15346 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15347 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15348 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15349 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15350 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15355 @node Splitting in IMAP
15356 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15357 @cindex splitting imap mail
15359 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15360 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15361 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15362 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15363 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15367 Here are the variables of interest:
15371 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15372 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15374 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15376 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15377 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15379 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15381 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15382 @cindex splitting, inbox
15384 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15386 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15387 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15391 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15392 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15395 No nnmail equivalent.
15397 @item nnimap-split-rule
15398 @cindex Splitting, rules
15399 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15401 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15404 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15405 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15406 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15407 Neither did I, we need examples.
15410 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15412 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15413 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15414 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15417 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15418 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15419 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15421 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15422 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15426 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15429 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15430 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15432 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15433 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15434 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15435 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15437 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15438 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15439 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15440 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15441 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15442 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15444 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15445 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15446 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15448 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15449 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15450 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15452 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15454 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15455 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15456 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15459 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15460 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15461 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15462 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15463 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15464 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15467 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15468 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15469 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15470 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15471 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15472 group/function elements.
15474 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15476 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15478 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15480 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15481 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15483 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15484 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15485 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15488 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15489 @cindex splitting, fancy
15490 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15491 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15493 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15494 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15495 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15497 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15498 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15499 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15500 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15505 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15506 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15509 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15513 @node Expiring in IMAP
15514 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15515 @cindex expiring imap mail
15517 Even though @sc{nnimap} is not a proper @sc{nnmail} derived back end,
15518 it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15519 Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do not clone
15520 the @sc{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating @var{nnimap-expiry-wait})
15521 but reuse the @sc{nnmail} variables. What follows below are the
15522 variables used by the @sc{nnimap} expiry process.
15524 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15525 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15526 @sc{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15527 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15528 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15529 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15530 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15531 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15535 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15536 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15538 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15539 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15541 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15543 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15544 @sc{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15545 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15546 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15550 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15551 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15552 @cindex editing imap acls
15553 @cindex Access Control Lists
15554 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15556 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15558 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15559 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15560 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15563 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15564 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15565 editing window with detailed instructions.
15567 Some possible uses:
15571 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15572 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15573 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15575 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15576 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15577 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15581 @node Expunging mailboxes
15582 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15586 @cindex Manual expunging
15588 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15590 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15591 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15592 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15594 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15597 @node A note on namespaces
15598 @subsection A note on namespaces
15599 @cindex IMAP namespace
15602 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15603 following text in the RFC:
15606 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15608 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15609 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15610 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15611 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15613 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15614 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15615 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15616 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15617 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15618 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15621 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15622 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15623 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15625 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15626 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15627 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15628 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15629 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15630 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15631 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15632 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15634 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15635 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15636 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15638 @node Other Sources
15639 @section Other Sources
15641 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15642 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15646 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15647 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15648 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15649 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15650 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15654 @node Directory Groups
15655 @subsection Directory Groups
15657 @cindex directory groups
15659 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15660 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15663 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15664 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15665 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15666 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15668 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15669 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15670 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15671 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15672 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15674 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15676 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15677 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15678 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15679 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15682 @node Anything Groups
15683 @subsection Anything Groups
15686 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15687 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15688 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15691 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15692 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15693 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15694 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15695 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15696 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15697 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15698 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15699 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15700 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15703 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15704 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15705 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15706 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15708 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15709 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15710 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15711 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15713 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15714 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15715 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15716 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15717 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15718 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15719 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15720 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15725 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15726 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15727 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15728 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15730 @item nneething-exclude-files
15731 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15732 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15733 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15735 @item nneething-include-files
15736 @vindex nneething-include-files
15737 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15738 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15740 @item nneething-map-file
15741 @vindex nneething-map-file
15742 Name of the map files.
15746 @node Document Groups
15747 @subsection Document Groups
15749 @cindex documentation group
15752 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15753 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15760 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15765 The standard Unix mbox file.
15767 @cindex MMDF mail box
15769 The MMDF mail box format.
15772 Several news articles appended into a file.
15775 @cindex rnews batch files
15776 The rnews batch transport format.
15777 @cindex forwarded messages
15780 Forwarded articles.
15783 Netscape mail boxes.
15786 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15788 @item standard-digest
15789 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15792 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15794 @item lanl-gov-announce
15795 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15797 @item rfc822-forward
15798 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15801 The Outlook mail box.
15804 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15807 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15810 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15813 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15819 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15822 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15828 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15829 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15830 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15833 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15834 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15835 group. And that's it.
15837 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15838 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15839 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15840 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15841 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15842 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15843 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15844 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15845 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15846 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15848 Virtual server variables:
15851 @item nndoc-article-type
15852 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15853 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15854 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15855 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15856 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15857 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15859 @item nndoc-post-type
15860 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15861 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15862 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15867 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15871 @node Document Server Internals
15872 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15874 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15875 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15876 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15877 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15879 First, here's an example document type definition:
15883 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15884 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15887 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15888 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15889 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15890 types can be defined with very few settings:
15893 @item first-article
15894 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15895 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15898 @item article-begin
15899 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15900 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15902 @item head-begin-function
15903 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15906 @item nndoc-head-begin
15907 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15910 @item nndoc-head-end
15911 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15912 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15914 @item body-begin-function
15915 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15919 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15922 @item body-end-function
15923 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15927 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15930 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15931 regexp will be totally ignored.
15935 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15936 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15937 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15938 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15939 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15942 @item prepare-body-function
15943 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15944 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15945 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15947 @item article-transform-function
15948 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15949 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15950 body of the article.
15952 @item generate-head-function
15953 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15954 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15955 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15956 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15960 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15965 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15966 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15967 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15968 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15969 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15970 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15971 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15972 (subtype digest guess))
15975 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15976 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15977 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15978 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15979 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15981 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15982 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15983 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15984 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15985 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
15986 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15987 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15988 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15989 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15990 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15998 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15999 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16000 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16002 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16003 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16004 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16007 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16008 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16009 that interested in doing things properly.
16011 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16012 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16015 First some terminology:
16020 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16021 get news and/or mail from.
16024 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16025 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16028 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16032 @item message packets
16033 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16034 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16035 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16037 @item response packets
16038 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16039 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16040 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16050 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16051 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16052 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16053 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16056 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16059 You put the packet in your home directory.
16062 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16063 the native or secondary server.
16066 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16067 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16070 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16074 You transfer this packet to the server.
16077 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16080 You then repeat until you die.
16084 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16085 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16088 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16089 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16090 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16094 @node SOUP Commands
16095 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16097 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16101 @kindex G s b (Group)
16102 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16103 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16104 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16105 process/prefix convention.
16108 @kindex G s w (Group)
16109 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16110 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16113 @kindex G s s (Group)
16114 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16115 Send all replies from the replies packet
16116 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16119 @kindex G s p (Group)
16120 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16121 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16124 @kindex G s r (Group)
16125 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16126 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16129 @kindex O s (Summary)
16130 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16131 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16132 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16133 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16138 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16143 @item gnus-soup-directory
16144 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16145 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16146 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16148 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16149 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16150 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16151 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16153 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16154 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16155 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16156 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16158 @item gnus-soup-packer
16159 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16160 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16161 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16163 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16164 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16165 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16166 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16168 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16169 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16170 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16172 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16173 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16174 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16175 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16181 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16184 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16185 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16186 you can read them at leisure.
16188 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16192 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16193 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16194 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16195 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16197 @item nnsoup-directory
16198 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16199 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16200 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16202 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16203 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16204 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16205 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16207 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16208 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16209 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16210 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16211 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16213 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16214 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16215 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16216 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16218 @item nnsoup-active-file
16219 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16220 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16221 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16222 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16223 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16225 @item nnsoup-packer
16226 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16227 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16228 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16230 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16231 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16232 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16233 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16235 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16236 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16237 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16240 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16241 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16242 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16245 @item nnsoup-always-save
16246 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16247 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16253 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16255 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16256 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16257 more for that to happen.
16259 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16260 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16261 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16264 In specific, this is what it does:
16267 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16268 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16271 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16272 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16273 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16276 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16277 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16278 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16281 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16282 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16283 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16285 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16291 @item nngateway-address
16292 @vindex nngateway-address
16293 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16295 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16296 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16297 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16298 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16299 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16300 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16301 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16304 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16305 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16306 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16309 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16312 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16315 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16318 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16320 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16323 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16324 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16325 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16327 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16329 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16330 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16331 @code{nngateway-address}.
16336 (setq gnus-post-method
16338 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16339 (nngateway-header-transformation
16340 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16348 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16351 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16356 @node Combined Groups
16357 @section Combined Groups
16359 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16363 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16364 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16368 @node Virtual Groups
16369 @subsection Virtual Groups
16371 @cindex virtual groups
16372 @cindex merging groups
16374 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16377 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16378 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16379 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16381 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16382 regexp to match component groups.
16384 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16385 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16386 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16387 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16388 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16389 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16390 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16391 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16393 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16394 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16397 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16400 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16401 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16403 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16404 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16405 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16406 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16409 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16412 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16413 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16414 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16416 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16417 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16418 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16419 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16420 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16422 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16423 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16424 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16426 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16427 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16428 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16429 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16430 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16431 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16432 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16433 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16434 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16435 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16436 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16438 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16439 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16440 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16441 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16442 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16443 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16444 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16446 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16447 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16449 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16450 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16454 @node Kibozed Groups
16455 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16459 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16460 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16461 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16462 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16464 @kindex G k (Group)
16465 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16468 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16469 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16470 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16471 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16473 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16474 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16475 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16477 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16478 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16479 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16480 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16481 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16482 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16483 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16484 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16486 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16487 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16488 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16489 Stranger things have happened.
16491 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16492 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16494 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16495 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16496 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16497 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16498 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16499 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16501 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16502 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16505 @node Gnus Unplugged
16506 @section Gnus Unplugged
16511 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16513 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16514 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16515 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16516 read news. Believe it or not.
16518 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16519 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16520 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16521 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16522 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16524 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16525 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16526 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16527 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16528 reading news on a machine.
16530 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16531 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16533 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16536 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16537 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16538 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16539 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16540 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16541 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16542 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16543 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16544 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16545 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16546 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16551 @subsection Agent Basics
16553 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16555 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16556 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16557 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16558 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16560 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16561 connected to the net continuously.
16563 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16564 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16566 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16571 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16572 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16573 already fetched while in this mode.
16576 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16577 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16578 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16579 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16580 Source Specifiers}).
16583 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16584 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16585 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16586 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16587 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16590 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16591 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16592 then you read the news offline.
16595 And then you go to step 2.
16598 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16604 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16605 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16606 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16607 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16608 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16609 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16610 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16611 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16614 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16621 @node Agent Categories
16622 @subsection Agent Categories
16624 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16625 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16626 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16627 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16628 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16629 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16630 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16632 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16633 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16634 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16635 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16636 managing categories.
16639 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16640 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16641 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16645 @node Category Syntax
16646 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16648 A category consists of two things.
16652 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16653 are eligible for downloading; and
16656 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16657 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16658 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16661 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16662 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16663 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16664 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16666 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16667 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16668 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16670 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16671 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16672 operators sprinkled in between.
16674 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16676 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16677 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16683 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16684 short (for some value of ``short'').
16686 Here's a more complex predicate:
16695 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16696 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16699 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16700 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16701 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16703 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16704 you want to do, you can write your own.
16708 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16709 lines; default 100.
16712 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16713 lines; default 200.
16716 True iff the article has a download score less than
16717 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16720 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16721 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16724 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16725 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16726 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16735 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16736 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16737 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16740 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16741 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16742 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16743 something along the lines of the following:
16746 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16747 "Say whether an article is old."
16748 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16749 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16752 with the predicate then defined as:
16755 (not my-article-old-p)
16758 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16759 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16763 (require 'gnus-agent)
16764 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16765 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16766 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16769 and simply specify your predicate as:
16775 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16776 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16777 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16778 just don't give a damn.
16780 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16781 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16782 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16783 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16784 parameters like so:
16787 (agent-predicate . short)
16790 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16791 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16792 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16794 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16797 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16800 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16801 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16802 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16805 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16806 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16807 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16808 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16809 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16810 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16812 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16813 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16814 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16815 if it's to be specific to that group.
16817 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16824 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16825 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16831 Category specification
16835 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16841 Group Parameter specification
16844 (agent-score ("from"
16845 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16850 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16856 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16863 Category specification
16866 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16872 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16876 Group Parameter specification
16879 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16882 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16887 Use @code{normal} score files
16889 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16890 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16891 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16892 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16894 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16895 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16896 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16897 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16901 Category Specification
16908 Group Parameter specification
16911 (agent-score . file)
16916 @node Category Buffer
16917 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16919 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16920 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16921 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16923 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16927 @kindex q (Category)
16928 @findex gnus-category-exit
16929 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16932 @kindex k (Category)
16933 @findex gnus-category-kill
16934 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16937 @kindex c (Category)
16938 @findex gnus-category-copy
16939 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16942 @kindex a (Category)
16943 @findex gnus-category-add
16944 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16947 @kindex p (Category)
16948 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16949 Edit the predicate of the current category
16950 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16953 @kindex g (Category)
16954 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16955 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16956 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16959 @kindex s (Category)
16960 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16961 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16962 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16965 @kindex l (Category)
16966 @findex gnus-category-list
16967 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16971 @node Category Variables
16972 @subsubsection Category Variables
16975 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16976 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16977 Hook run in category buffers.
16979 @item gnus-category-line-format
16980 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16981 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16982 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16986 The name of the category.
16989 The number of groups in the category.
16992 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16993 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16994 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16996 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16997 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16998 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17000 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17001 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17002 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17004 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17005 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17006 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17009 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17010 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17011 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17017 @node Agent Commands
17018 @subsection Agent Commands
17020 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17021 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17022 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17026 * Group Agent Commands::
17027 * Summary Agent Commands::
17028 * Server Agent Commands::
17034 @node Group Agent Commands
17035 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17039 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17040 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17041 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17042 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17045 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17046 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17047 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17050 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17051 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17052 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17053 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17056 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17057 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17058 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17059 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17062 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17063 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17064 Add the current group to an Agent category
17065 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17066 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17069 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17070 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17071 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17072 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17073 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17076 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17077 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17078 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17084 @node Summary Agent Commands
17085 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17089 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17090 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17091 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17094 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17095 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17096 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17097 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17100 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17101 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17102 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
17105 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17106 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17107 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
17110 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17111 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17112 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17113 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17118 @node Server Agent Commands
17119 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17123 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17124 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17125 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17126 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17129 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17130 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17131 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17132 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17137 @node Agent as Cache
17138 @subsection Agent as Cache
17140 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17141 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17142 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17143 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17144 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17145 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17146 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17147 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17148 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17150 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17151 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17154 @subsection Agent Expiry
17156 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17157 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17158 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17159 @cindex Agent expiry
17160 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17163 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17164 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17165 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17166 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17167 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17168 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17170 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17171 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17172 expiry in different groups.
17175 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17181 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17182 method---it must always match all groups.
17184 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17185 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17186 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17187 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17188 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17190 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17191 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17192 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17193 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17195 @node Agent and IMAP
17196 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17198 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17199 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17200 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17201 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17203 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17204 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17205 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17206 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17208 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17209 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17210 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17211 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17213 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17214 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17215 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17216 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17217 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17218 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17220 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17221 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17222 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17223 in the group buffer.
17225 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17226 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17231 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17234 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17238 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17239 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17240 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17241 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17242 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17243 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17244 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17245 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17248 @node Outgoing Messages
17249 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17251 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17252 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17253 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17255 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17256 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17257 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17258 messages in the draft group.
17262 @node Agent Variables
17263 @subsection Agent Variables
17266 @item gnus-agent-directory
17267 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17268 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17269 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17271 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17272 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17273 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17274 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17275 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17278 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17279 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17280 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17282 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17283 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17284 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17286 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17287 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17288 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17290 @item gnus-agent-cache
17291 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17292 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17293 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17294 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17296 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17297 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17298 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17299 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17300 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17301 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17302 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17305 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17306 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17307 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17308 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17309 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17310 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17311 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17312 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17313 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17318 @node Example Setup
17319 @subsection Example Setup
17321 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17322 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17323 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17326 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17327 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17328 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17330 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17331 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17332 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17334 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17335 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17337 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17338 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17339 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17342 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17343 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17346 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17347 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17348 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17349 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17350 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17353 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17354 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17355 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17356 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17357 back all the killed groups.)
17359 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17360 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17361 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17364 @node Batching Agents
17365 @subsection Batching Agents
17367 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17368 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17369 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17371 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17372 following incantation:
17376 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17380 @node Agent Caveats
17381 @subsection Agent Caveats
17383 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17384 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17388 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17390 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17391 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17392 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17394 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17396 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17400 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17401 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17402 locally stored articles.
17409 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17410 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17411 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17414 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17415 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17416 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17417 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17418 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17420 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17421 before generating the summary buffer.
17423 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17424 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17425 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17427 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17428 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17429 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17430 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17433 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17434 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17435 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17436 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17437 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17438 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17439 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17440 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17441 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17442 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17443 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17444 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17445 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17446 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17447 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17448 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17449 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17453 @node Summary Score Commands
17454 @section Summary Score Commands
17455 @cindex score commands
17457 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17458 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17459 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17460 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17461 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17463 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17464 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17465 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17466 score file the current one.
17468 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17473 @kindex V s (Summary)
17474 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17475 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17478 @kindex V S (Summary)
17479 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17480 Display the score of the current article
17481 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17484 @kindex V t (Summary)
17485 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17486 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17487 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17490 @kindex V w (Summary)
17491 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17492 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17495 @kindex V R (Summary)
17496 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17497 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17498 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17499 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17500 effect you're having.
17503 @kindex V c (Summary)
17504 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17505 Make a different score file the current
17506 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17509 @kindex V e (Summary)
17510 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17511 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17512 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17516 @kindex V f (Summary)
17517 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17518 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17519 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17522 @kindex V F (Summary)
17523 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17524 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17525 after editing score files.
17528 @kindex V C (Summary)
17529 @findex gnus-score-customize
17530 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17531 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17535 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17540 @kindex V m (Summary)
17541 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17542 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17543 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17546 @kindex V x (Summary)
17547 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17548 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17549 expunge all articles below this score
17550 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17553 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17554 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17557 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17558 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17562 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17563 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17565 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17566 keys are available:
17570 Score on the author name.
17573 Score on the subject line.
17576 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17579 Score on the @code{References} line.
17585 Score on the number of lines.
17588 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17591 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17592 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17595 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17596 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17597 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17606 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17612 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17613 what headers you are scoring on.
17625 Substring matching.
17628 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17657 Greater than number.
17662 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17663 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17664 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17669 Temporary score entry.
17672 Permanent score entry.
17675 Immediately scoring.
17679 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17680 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17681 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17685 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17686 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17687 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17688 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17690 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17691 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17692 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17693 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17694 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17696 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17697 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17698 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17699 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17700 current score file.
17702 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17703 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17704 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17707 @node Group Score Commands
17708 @section Group Score Commands
17709 @cindex group score commands
17711 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17716 @kindex W f (Group)
17717 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17718 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17719 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17720 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17724 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17726 @findex gnus-batch-score
17727 @cindex batch scoring
17729 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17733 @node Score Variables
17734 @section Score Variables
17735 @cindex score variables
17739 @item gnus-use-scoring
17740 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17741 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17742 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17744 @item gnus-kill-killed
17745 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17746 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17747 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17748 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17749 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17750 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17751 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17753 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17754 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17755 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17756 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17757 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17759 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17760 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17761 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17762 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17764 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17765 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17766 @cindex score cache
17767 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17768 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17769 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17770 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17771 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17772 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17775 @item gnus-save-score
17776 @vindex gnus-save-score
17777 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17778 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17779 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17781 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17782 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17783 across group visits.
17785 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17786 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17787 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17788 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17789 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17790 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17791 manually entered data.
17793 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17794 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17795 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17797 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17798 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17799 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17800 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17801 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17802 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17804 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17805 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17806 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17807 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17809 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17810 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17811 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17812 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17814 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17815 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17816 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17817 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17819 Predefined functions available are:
17822 @item gnus-score-find-single
17823 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17824 Only apply the group's own score file.
17826 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17827 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17828 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17829 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17830 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17831 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17832 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17833 then a regexp match is done.
17835 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17836 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17838 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17839 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17840 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17841 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17843 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17844 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17845 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17846 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17847 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17851 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17852 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17853 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17854 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17855 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17856 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17857 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17860 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17861 overall score file, you could use the value
17863 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17864 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17867 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17868 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17869 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17870 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17871 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17873 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17874 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17875 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17876 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17877 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17878 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17879 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17880 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17882 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17883 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17884 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17886 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17887 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17888 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17889 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17890 threading---according to the current value of
17891 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17892 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17893 simplified in this manner.
17898 @node Score File Format
17899 @section Score File Format
17900 @cindex score file format
17902 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17903 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17904 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17906 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17910 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17912 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17914 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17916 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17921 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17925 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17926 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17927 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17928 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17932 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17933 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17935 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17936 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17937 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17939 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17944 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17945 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17946 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17947 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17948 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17949 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17950 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17951 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17952 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17953 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17954 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17955 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17956 to articles that matches these score entries.
17958 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17959 score entry has one to four elements.
17963 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17964 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17968 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17969 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17970 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17971 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17972 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17973 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17976 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17977 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17978 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17979 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17980 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17983 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17984 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17985 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17986 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17989 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17990 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17991 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17992 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17993 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17994 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17995 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17996 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17997 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17998 instead, if you feel like.
18001 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18002 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18003 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18004 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18005 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18006 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18009 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18013 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18014 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18016 These predicates are true if
18019 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18022 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18023 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18030 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18031 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18032 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18033 it's not. I think.)
18035 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18036 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18037 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18038 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18041 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18042 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18043 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18044 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18045 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18046 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18047 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18051 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18052 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18053 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18054 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18055 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18056 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18057 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18058 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18061 @item Head, Body, All
18062 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18066 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18067 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18068 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18069 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18070 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18071 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18072 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18076 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18077 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18078 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18079 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18080 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18081 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18082 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18083 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18084 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18085 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18086 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18090 @cindex Score File Atoms
18092 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18093 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18096 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18097 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18099 @item mark-and-expunge
18100 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18101 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18104 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18105 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18106 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18107 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18108 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18111 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18112 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18115 @item exclude-files
18116 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18117 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18121 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18122 ignored when handling global score files.
18125 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18126 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18127 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18128 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18131 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18132 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18133 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18134 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18136 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18140 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18143 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18144 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18145 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18146 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18147 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18149 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18150 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18151 scoring rules exist.
18154 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18155 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18156 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18157 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18158 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18159 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18160 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18161 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18162 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18163 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18164 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18168 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18169 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18170 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18171 file for a number of groups.
18174 @cindex local variables
18175 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18176 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18177 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18178 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18179 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18183 @node Score File Editing
18184 @section Score File Editing
18186 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18187 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18188 with a mode for that.
18190 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18191 additional commands:
18196 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18197 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18198 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18199 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18202 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18203 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18204 Insert the current date in numerical format
18205 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18206 you were wondering.
18209 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18210 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18211 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18212 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18213 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18218 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18220 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18221 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18223 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18224 e} to begin editing score files.
18227 @node Adaptive Scoring
18228 @section Adaptive Scoring
18229 @cindex adaptive scoring
18231 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18232 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18233 stupidity, to be precise.
18235 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18236 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18237 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18238 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18239 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18240 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18241 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18242 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18243 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18245 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18246 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18247 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18248 might look something like this:
18251 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18252 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18253 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18254 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18255 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18256 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18257 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18258 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18259 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18260 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18261 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18262 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18265 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18266 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18267 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18268 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18269 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18270 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18273 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18274 will be applied to each article.
18276 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18277 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18278 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18279 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18281 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18282 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18283 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18284 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18286 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18287 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18288 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18289 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18291 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18292 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18293 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18294 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18295 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18296 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18298 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18299 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18300 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18301 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18302 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18303 aspirins afterwards.)
18305 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18306 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18307 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18309 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18310 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18311 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18313 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18314 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18315 let you use different rules in different groups.
18317 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18318 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18319 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18322 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18323 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18324 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18325 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18326 the length of the match is less than
18327 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18328 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18331 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18332 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18333 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18334 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18335 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18338 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18339 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18340 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18341 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18342 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18345 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18346 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18347 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18348 score with 30 points.
18350 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18351 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18352 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18353 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18354 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18356 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18357 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18358 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18359 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18360 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18362 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18363 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18364 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18365 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18367 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18368 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18369 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18370 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18372 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18373 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18374 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18375 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18376 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18378 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18379 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18380 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18382 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18383 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18384 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18385 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18388 @node Home Score File
18389 @section Home Score File
18391 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18392 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18393 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18394 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18396 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18397 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18398 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18400 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18401 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18406 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18410 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18411 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18415 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18419 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18420 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18423 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18424 the home score file.
18427 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18430 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18435 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18438 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18439 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18442 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18443 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18445 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18447 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18448 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18451 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18452 Other functions include
18455 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18456 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18457 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18458 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18462 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18463 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18464 their own home score files:
18467 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18468 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18469 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18470 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18471 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18474 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18475 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18476 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18477 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18478 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18480 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18481 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18482 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18483 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18484 precedence over this variable.
18487 @node Followups To Yourself
18488 @section Followups To Yourself
18490 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18491 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18492 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18493 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18494 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18495 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18499 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18500 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18501 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18504 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18505 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18506 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18510 @vindex message-sent-hook
18511 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18512 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18514 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18518 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18519 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18523 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18524 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18527 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18528 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18533 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18537 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18538 is system-dependent.
18541 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18542 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18543 @cindex scoring on other headers
18545 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18546 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18547 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18548 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18549 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18551 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18552 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18553 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18554 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18555 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18557 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18560 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18561 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18564 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18565 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18566 time if you have much mail.
18568 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18569 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18575 @section Scoring Tips
18576 @cindex scoring tips
18582 @cindex scoring crossposts
18583 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18584 the @code{Xref} header.
18586 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18589 @item Multiple crossposts
18590 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18591 more than, say, 3 groups:
18594 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18598 @item Matching on the body
18599 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18600 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18601 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18602 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18603 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18604 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18605 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18608 @item Marking as read
18609 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18610 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18611 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18615 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18617 @item Negated character classes
18618 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18619 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18620 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18624 @node Reverse Scoring
18625 @section Reverse Scoring
18626 @cindex reverse scoring
18628 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18629 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18630 like this in your score file:
18634 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18639 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18640 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18643 @node Global Score Files
18644 @section Global Score Files
18645 @cindex global score files
18647 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18648 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18649 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18651 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18652 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18653 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18655 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18656 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18657 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18658 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18659 files are applicable to which group.
18661 To use the score file
18662 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18663 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18667 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18668 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18669 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18672 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18674 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18675 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18676 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18677 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18679 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18680 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18682 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18683 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18684 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18685 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18686 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18687 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18689 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18695 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18697 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18699 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18701 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18702 lowered out of existence.
18704 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18705 articles completely.
18708 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18709 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18710 old articles for a long time.
18713 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18714 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18715 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18716 holding our breath yet?
18720 @section Kill Files
18723 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18724 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18725 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18727 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18728 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18729 files into score files.
18731 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18732 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18733 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18734 that isn't a very good idea.
18736 Normal kill files look like this:
18739 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18740 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18744 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18745 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18747 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18748 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18751 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18756 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18757 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18758 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18761 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18762 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18763 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18766 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18771 @kindex M-k (Group)
18772 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18773 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18776 @kindex M-K (Group)
18777 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18778 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18781 Kill file variables:
18784 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18785 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18786 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18787 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18788 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18789 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18790 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18792 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18793 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18794 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18795 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18798 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18799 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18800 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18801 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18802 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18803 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18804 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18805 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18806 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18808 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18809 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18810 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18815 @node Converting Kill Files
18816 @section Converting Kill Files
18818 @cindex converting kill files
18820 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18821 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18822 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18825 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18826 You can fetch it from
18827 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18829 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18830 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18831 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18839 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18840 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18841 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18842 news articles generated every day.
18844 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18845 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18846 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18847 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18848 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18849 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18850 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18851 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18854 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18855 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18858 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18859 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18860 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18861 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18865 @node Using GroupLens
18866 @subsection Using GroupLens
18868 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18870 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18871 better bit in town at the moment.
18873 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18877 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18878 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18879 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18880 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18882 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18883 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18884 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18885 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18887 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18888 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18889 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18893 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18894 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18895 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18896 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18897 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18898 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18901 @node Rating Articles
18902 @subsection Rating Articles
18904 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18905 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18906 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18907 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18910 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18915 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18916 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18917 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18920 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18921 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18922 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18923 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18924 threads in rec.humor.
18928 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18929 the score of the article you're reading.
18934 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18935 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18936 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18939 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18940 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18941 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18945 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18946 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18949 @node Displaying Predictions
18950 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18952 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18953 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18954 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18955 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18956 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18958 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18959 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18960 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18961 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18962 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18963 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18964 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18965 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18966 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18967 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18968 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18969 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18970 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18972 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18973 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18974 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18975 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18977 The following are valid values for that variable.
18980 @item prediction-spot
18981 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18984 @item confidence-interval
18985 A numeric confidence interval.
18987 @item prediction-bar
18988 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18990 @item confidence-bar
18991 Numerical confidence.
18993 @item confidence-spot
18994 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18996 @item prediction-num
18997 Plain-old numeric value.
18999 @item confidence-plus-minus
19000 Prediction +/- confidence.
19005 @node GroupLens Variables
19006 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19010 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19011 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19012 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19013 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19016 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19017 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19020 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19021 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19023 @item grouplens-score-offset
19024 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19025 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19028 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19029 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19030 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19035 @node Advanced Scoring
19036 @section Advanced Scoring
19038 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19039 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19040 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19041 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19042 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19044 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19048 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19049 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19050 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19054 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19055 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19057 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19058 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19059 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19060 non-@code{nil} value.
19062 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19063 operator, and various match operators.
19070 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19071 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19072 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19077 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19078 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19079 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19084 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19085 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19089 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19090 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19091 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19092 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19093 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19094 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19095 the ancestry you want to go.
19097 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19098 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19099 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19100 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19101 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19104 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19105 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19107 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19108 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19111 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19112 when he's talking about Gnus:
19116 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19117 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19123 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19127 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19134 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19135 really don't want to read what he's written:
19139 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19140 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19144 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19145 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19146 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19153 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19154 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19155 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19156 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19160 The possibilities are endless.
19163 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19164 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19166 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19167 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19168 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19169 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19170 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19171 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19172 @samp{subject}) first.
19174 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19175 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19186 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19187 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19193 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19200 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19201 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19206 @section Score Decays
19207 @cindex score decays
19210 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19211 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19212 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19213 use them in any sensible way.
19215 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19216 @findex gnus-decay-score
19217 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19218 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19219 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19220 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19221 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19222 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19223 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19224 definition of that function:
19227 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19229 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19230 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19233 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19235 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19237 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19240 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19241 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19242 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19243 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19247 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19250 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19253 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19257 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19258 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19259 the new score, which should be an integer.
19261 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19262 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19267 @include message.texi
19268 @chapter Emacs MIME
19269 @include emacs-mime.texi
19271 @include sieve.texi
19281 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19282 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19283 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19284 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19285 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19286 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19287 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19288 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19289 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19290 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19291 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19292 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19293 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19294 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19295 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19296 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19297 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19298 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19299 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19303 @node Process/Prefix
19304 @section Process/Prefix
19305 @cindex process/prefix convention
19307 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19308 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19310 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19311 command to be performed on.
19315 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19316 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19317 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19318 with the current one.
19320 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19321 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19322 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19324 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19325 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19328 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19329 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19331 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19334 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19335 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19336 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19337 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19339 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19340 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19341 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19342 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19343 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19344 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19345 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19346 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19348 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19349 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19350 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19351 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19352 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19356 @section Interactive
19357 @cindex interaction
19361 @item gnus-novice-user
19362 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19363 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19364 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19365 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19366 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19369 @item gnus-expert-user
19370 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19371 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19372 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19373 matter how strange.
19375 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19376 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19377 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19378 is @code{t} by default.
19380 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19381 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19382 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19387 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19388 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19389 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19391 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19392 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19393 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19394 rule of 900 to the current article.
19396 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19397 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19398 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19399 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19400 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19401 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19402 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19404 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19405 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19406 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19407 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19408 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19409 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19410 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19411 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19412 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19414 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19415 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19416 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19418 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19422 @node Formatting Variables
19423 @section Formatting Variables
19424 @cindex formatting variables
19426 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19427 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19428 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19429 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19430 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19433 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19434 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19435 lots of percentages everywhere.
19438 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19439 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19440 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19441 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19442 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19443 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19444 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19445 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19448 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19449 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19450 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19451 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19452 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19453 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19454 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19455 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19457 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19458 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19460 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19461 @findex gnus-update-format
19462 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19463 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19464 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19465 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19469 @node Formatting Basics
19470 @subsection Formatting Basics
19472 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19473 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19474 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19476 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19477 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19478 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19479 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19480 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19483 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19484 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19485 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19486 less than 4 characters wide.
19488 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19489 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19492 @node Mode Line Formatting
19493 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19495 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19496 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19497 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19498 with the following two differences:
19503 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19506 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19507 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19508 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19509 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19510 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19511 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19512 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19517 @node Advanced Formatting
19518 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19520 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19521 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19522 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19523 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19525 These are the valid modifiers:
19530 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19534 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19539 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19542 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19547 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19550 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19553 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19556 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19562 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19567 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19568 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19569 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19570 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19571 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19572 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19573 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19575 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19576 last operation, padding.
19578 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19579 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19580 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19581 @xref{Compilation}.
19584 @node User-Defined Specs
19585 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19587 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19588 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19589 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19590 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19591 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19592 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19593 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19594 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19595 should protect against that.
19597 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19598 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19600 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19601 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19602 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19603 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19607 @node Formatting Fonts
19608 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19610 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19611 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19612 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19613 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19616 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19617 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19618 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19619 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19620 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19621 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19623 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19624 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19625 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19626 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19627 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19628 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19629 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19630 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19631 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19632 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19634 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19637 ;; Create three face types.
19638 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19639 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19641 ;; We want the article count to be in
19642 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19643 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19644 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19646 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19647 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19649 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19650 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19651 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19654 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19655 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19657 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19658 mode-line variables.
19660 @node Positioning Point
19661 @subsection Positioning Point
19663 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19664 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19665 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19667 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19669 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19670 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19671 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19673 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19674 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19675 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19680 @subsection Tabulation
19682 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19683 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19684 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19685 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19687 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19688 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19690 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19691 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19692 This is the soft tabulator.
19694 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19695 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19696 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19699 @node Wide Characters
19700 @subsection Wide Characters
19702 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19703 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19704 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19706 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19707 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19708 these countries, that's not true.
19710 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19711 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19712 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19713 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19717 @node Window Layout
19718 @section Window Layout
19719 @cindex window layout
19721 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19723 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19724 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19725 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19726 @code{t} by default.
19728 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19729 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19731 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19732 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19733 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19736 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19737 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19738 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19742 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19743 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19744 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19745 possible names is listed below.
19747 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19748 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19751 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19755 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19756 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19757 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19758 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19759 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19760 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19761 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19762 size spec per split.
19764 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19765 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19766 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19767 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19768 present) gets focus.
19770 Here's a more complicated example:
19773 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19774 (summary 0.25 point)
19775 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19779 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19780 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19781 occupy, not a percentage.
19783 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19784 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19785 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19786 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19787 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19790 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19793 (article (horizontal 1.0
19798 (summary 0.25 point)
19803 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19804 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19806 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19807 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19808 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19809 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19810 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19812 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19813 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19814 lines from the splits.
19816 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19820 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19821 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19822 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19823 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19824 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19825 size = number | frame-params
19826 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19829 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19830 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19831 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19832 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19834 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19835 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19836 @cindex window height
19837 @cindex window width
19838 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19839 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19840 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19841 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19842 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19843 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19845 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19846 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19847 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19848 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19850 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19851 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19852 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19853 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19854 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19855 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19856 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19857 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19858 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19859 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19860 configuration list.
19863 (gnus-configure-frame
19867 (article 0.3 point))
19875 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19876 @code{frame} split:
19879 (gnus-configure-frame
19882 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19884 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19885 (user-position . t)
19886 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19891 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19892 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19893 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19894 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19895 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19896 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19897 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19898 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19900 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19901 be found in its default value.
19903 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19904 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19905 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19909 (message (horizontal 1.0
19910 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19912 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19917 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19918 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19919 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19924 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19925 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19926 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19927 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19928 (name . "Message"))
19929 (message 1.0 point))))
19932 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19933 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19934 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19935 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19936 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19939 (gnus-add-configuration
19940 '(article (vertical 1.0
19942 (summary .25 point)
19946 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19947 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19948 Gnus has been loaded.
19950 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19951 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19952 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19953 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19954 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19956 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19957 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19958 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19961 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19965 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19966 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19981 (gnus-add-configuration
19984 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19986 (summary 0.16 point)
19989 (gnus-add-configuration
19992 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19993 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19999 @node Faces and Fonts
20000 @section Faces and Fonts
20005 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20006 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20007 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20012 @section Compilation
20013 @cindex compilation
20014 @cindex byte-compilation
20016 @findex gnus-compile
20018 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20019 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20020 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
20021 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20022 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20023 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20026 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20027 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20028 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20029 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
20030 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
20031 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
20032 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
20036 @section Mode Lines
20039 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20040 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20041 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20042 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20043 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20044 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20045 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20048 @cindex display-time
20050 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20051 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20052 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20053 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20054 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20055 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20056 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20057 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20060 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20062 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20063 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20065 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20066 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20067 (length display-time-string)))))
20070 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20071 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20072 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20073 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20074 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20077 @node Highlighting and Menus
20078 @section Highlighting and Menus
20080 @cindex highlighting
20083 @vindex gnus-visual
20084 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20085 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20086 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20089 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20090 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20093 @item group-highlight
20094 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20095 @item summary-highlight
20096 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20097 @item article-highlight
20098 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20100 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20102 Create menus in the group buffer.
20104 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20106 Create menus in the article buffer.
20108 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20110 Create menus in the server buffer.
20112 Create menus in the score buffers.
20114 Create menus in all buffers.
20117 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20118 buffers, you could say something like:
20121 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20124 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20127 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20130 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20131 in all Gnus buffers.
20133 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20136 @item gnus-mouse-face
20137 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20138 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20139 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20143 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20147 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20148 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20149 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20151 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20152 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20153 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20155 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20156 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20157 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20159 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20160 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20161 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20163 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20164 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20165 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20167 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20168 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20169 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20180 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20181 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20182 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20183 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20184 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20188 @vindex gnus-carpal
20189 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20190 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20191 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20196 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20197 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20198 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20200 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20201 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20202 Face used on buttons.
20204 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20205 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20206 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20208 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20209 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20210 Buttons in the group buffer.
20212 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20213 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20214 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20216 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20217 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20218 Buttons in the server buffer.
20220 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20221 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20222 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20225 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20226 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20227 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20235 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20236 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20237 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20238 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20239 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20241 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20242 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20243 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20245 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20246 been idle for thirty minutes:
20249 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20252 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20256 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20259 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20260 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20261 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20263 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20264 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20265 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20266 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20268 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20269 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20270 @var{idle} minutes.
20272 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20273 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20276 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20277 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20278 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20280 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20281 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20282 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20283 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20285 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20286 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20288 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20290 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20293 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20294 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20295 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20296 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20297 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20298 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20299 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20300 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20301 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20302 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20303 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20305 @findex gnus-demon-init
20306 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20307 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20308 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20309 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20310 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20312 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20313 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20314 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20323 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20324 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20326 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20327 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20328 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20329 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20332 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20333 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20334 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20335 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20337 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20338 this will make spam disappear.
20340 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20343 @item gnus-use-nocem
20344 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20345 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20348 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20349 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20350 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20351 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20352 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20354 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20355 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20356 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20357 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20358 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20359 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20361 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20362 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20364 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20365 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20366 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20367 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20368 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20369 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20370 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20371 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20372 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20373 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20375 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20376 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20379 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20382 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20383 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20386 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20389 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20392 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20393 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20395 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20396 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20397 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20398 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20400 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20401 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20404 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20406 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20414 This might be dangerous, though.
20416 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20417 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20418 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20419 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20421 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20422 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20423 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20424 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20425 might then see old spam.
20427 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20428 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20429 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20430 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20431 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20434 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20435 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20436 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20437 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20441 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20442 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20443 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20444 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20451 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20452 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20453 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20455 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20456 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20457 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20458 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20459 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20460 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20461 @code{undo} function.
20463 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20464 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20465 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20466 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20467 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20468 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20469 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20470 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20471 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20472 never be totally undoable.
20474 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20475 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20477 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20478 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20479 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20480 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20484 @node Predicate Specifiers
20485 @section Predicate Specifiers
20486 @cindex predicate specifiers
20488 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20489 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20490 to type all that much.
20492 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20497 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20498 gnus-article-unread-p)
20501 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20502 functions all take one parameter.
20504 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20505 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20506 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20507 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20512 @section Moderation
20515 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20516 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20517 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20520 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20524 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20527 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20529 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20534 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20535 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20536 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20539 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20540 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20543 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20544 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20548 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20551 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20552 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20556 @node Image Enhancements
20557 @section Image Enhancements
20559 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20560 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20563 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20564 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20565 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20566 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20567 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20580 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20581 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20582 over your shoulder as you read news.
20585 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20586 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20587 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20588 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20589 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20594 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20596 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20605 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20606 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20607 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20608 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20609 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20610 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20611 @code{GIF} formats.
20614 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20615 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20616 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20617 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20618 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20620 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20621 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20622 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20623 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20624 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20625 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20627 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20628 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20631 @node Picon Requirements
20632 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20634 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20635 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20636 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20637 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20639 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20640 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20641 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20642 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20643 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20644 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20647 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20649 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20650 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20653 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20654 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20657 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20658 containing the Picons databases.
20660 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20663 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20664 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20669 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20677 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20678 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20679 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20680 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20681 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20686 @item gnus-picons-database
20687 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20688 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20689 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20690 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20691 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20692 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20694 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20695 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20696 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20697 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20698 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20699 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20700 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20702 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20703 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20704 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20705 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20706 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20707 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20708 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20709 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20711 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20712 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20713 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20718 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20719 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20721 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20722 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20725 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20727 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20728 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20729 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20730 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20732 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20733 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20734 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20735 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20741 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20742 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20750 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20751 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20752 don't need to worry about.
20756 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20757 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20758 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20759 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20761 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20762 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20763 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20764 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20766 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20767 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20768 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20769 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20770 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20772 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20773 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20774 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20775 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20776 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20777 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20778 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20779 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20781 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20782 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20783 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20784 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20785 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20787 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20788 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20789 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20790 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20791 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20792 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20793 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20795 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20796 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20797 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20798 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20800 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20801 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20802 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20803 Defaults to @code{t}.
20805 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20806 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20807 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20808 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20810 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20811 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20812 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20814 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20815 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20816 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20817 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20819 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20820 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20822 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20823 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20824 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20825 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20826 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20827 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20828 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20829 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20840 @subsection Smileys
20845 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20850 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20851 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20853 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20854 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20857 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20860 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20861 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20862 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20863 text and maps that to file names.
20865 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20866 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20867 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20868 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20869 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20870 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20872 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20873 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20875 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20876 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20877 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20879 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20880 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20884 @item smiley-data-directory
20885 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20886 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20888 @item smiley-flesh-color
20889 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20890 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20892 @item smiley-features-color
20893 @vindex smiley-features-color
20894 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20896 @item smiley-tongue-color
20897 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20898 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20900 @item smiley-circle-color
20901 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20902 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20904 @item smiley-mouse-face
20905 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20906 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20915 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20916 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20917 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20921 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20922 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20923 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20924 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20932 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20933 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20934 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20935 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20937 The variable that controls this is the
20938 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20939 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20940 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20941 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20942 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20944 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20945 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20946 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20947 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20950 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20951 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20952 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20953 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20954 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20955 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20956 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20957 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20959 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20962 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20963 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20965 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20966 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20967 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20968 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20969 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20970 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20972 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20973 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20974 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20976 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20977 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20980 (setq message-required-news-headers
20981 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20982 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20985 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20988 (setq message-required-news-headers
20989 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20990 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20991 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20992 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20997 @subsection Toolbar
21007 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21008 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21009 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21010 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21011 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21013 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21014 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21015 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21017 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21018 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21019 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21021 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21022 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21023 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21029 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21032 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21033 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21034 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21035 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21036 unusual directory structure.
21038 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21039 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21040 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21041 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21043 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21044 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21045 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21046 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21047 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21048 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21050 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21051 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21052 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21066 @node Fuzzy Matching
21067 @section Fuzzy Matching
21068 @cindex fuzzy matching
21070 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21071 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21073 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21074 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21075 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21077 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21078 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21079 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21080 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21081 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21084 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21085 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21089 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21091 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21092 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21093 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21094 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21095 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21096 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21097 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21098 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21101 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21102 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21103 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21104 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21105 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21106 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21108 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21111 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21112 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21113 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21114 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21115 * Filtering Spam Using spam.el::
21116 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)::
21119 @node The problem of spam
21120 @subsection The problem of spam
21122 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21123 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21125 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21127 First, some background on spam.
21129 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21130 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21131 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21132 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21133 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21134 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21135 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21136 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21138 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21139 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21140 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21141 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21142 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21143 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21144 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21145 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21146 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21149 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21150 spam messages per day from @email{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21151 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21152 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21153 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21154 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21155 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21156 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21157 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21158 mail can be useful.
21160 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21161 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21162 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21163 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21164 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21165 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21166 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21167 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21168 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21170 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21171 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21172 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21173 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21174 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21175 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21176 because of the incident.
21178 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21179 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21180 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21181 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21182 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21183 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21184 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21185 to store the database of spam analyses.
21187 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21188 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21192 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21194 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21195 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21197 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21198 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21199 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21200 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21201 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21202 part of the mail address.)
21205 (setq message-default-news-headers
21206 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21209 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21210 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21215 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21216 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21217 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21223 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21224 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21225 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21226 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21228 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21229 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21230 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21231 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21232 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21233 your fancy split rule in this way:
21238 (to "larsi" "misc")
21242 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21243 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21244 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21245 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21246 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21248 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21249 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21250 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21251 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21252 cosmic balance somewhat.
21254 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21255 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21256 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21257 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21262 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21263 @cindex SpamAssassin
21264 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21267 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21268 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21269 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21270 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21271 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21272 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21273 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21275 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21276 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21277 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21278 Specifiers}) follows.
21282 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21285 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21288 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21289 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21290 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21293 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21297 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21300 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21301 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21305 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21306 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21307 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21308 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21311 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21313 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21315 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21316 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21318 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21320 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21321 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21325 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21326 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21327 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21330 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21331 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21333 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21334 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21335 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21339 @subsection Hashcash
21342 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21343 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21344 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21345 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21346 in smaller communities.
21348 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21349 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21350 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21351 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21352 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21353 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21354 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21355 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21356 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21357 one of them separately.
21360 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21361 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21362 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21363 header. For more details, and for the external application
21364 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21365 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21366 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21368 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21372 (require 'hashcash)
21373 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21376 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21377 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21378 development contrib directory.
21380 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21384 @item hashcash-default-payment
21385 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21386 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21387 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21388 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21390 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21391 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21392 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21393 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21394 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21395 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21396 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21397 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21401 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21405 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21406 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21407 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21408 a useful contribution, however.
21410 @node Filtering Spam Using spam.el
21411 @subsection Filtering Spam Using spam.el
21412 @cindex spam filtering
21415 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21416 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21417 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21418 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21421 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21422 the following keyboard commands:
21432 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21433 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21435 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{H} mark.
21436 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21437 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21438 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21444 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21445 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21447 You must have bogofilter processing enabled for that command to work
21454 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21455 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21458 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21459 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21460 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21461 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21462 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21463 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21464 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21465 will be detected later.
21467 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21468 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21469 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21470 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21471 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21472 by customizing the corresponding variable
21473 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21474 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21475 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21476 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21477 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21478 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21479 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21482 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21483 they get the @samp{H} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21484 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{H} mark for
21485 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{H}
21486 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to "unread" the article, or @kbd{d} for
21487 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21488 spam-marked (@samp{H}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21489 will study them as spam samples.
21491 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21492 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21493 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21494 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21495 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21496 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21497 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21498 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21500 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21501 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21502 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21503 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21506 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21507 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21508 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21511 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21512 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21513 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21514 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21515 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21516 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{H},
21519 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21520 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21521 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21522 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21523 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21524 parameter or the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations} variable. The
21525 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21526 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21528 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21529 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21531 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21532 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21533 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or the
21534 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable. The location is a
21535 group name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not
21536 set, the spam articles are only expired.
21538 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21539 must add the following to your fancy split list
21540 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21546 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21547 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21548 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21550 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21551 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21552 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21553 but you can customize it.
21555 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21556 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21557 longer spam or ham.}
21559 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21560 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21563 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21564 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21567 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21568 * BBDB Whitelists::
21571 * ifile spam filtering::
21572 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21573 * Extending spam.el::
21576 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21577 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21578 @cindex spam filtering
21579 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21580 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21583 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21584 Set this variable to t if you want to use blacklists when splitting
21585 incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist will be
21586 sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit filter,
21587 meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to be
21591 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21592 Set this variable to t if you want to use whitelists when splitting
21593 incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the whitelist will
21594 be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an implicit filter,
21595 meaning it believes everyone to be a spammer unless told otherwise.
21599 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21600 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21601 customizing the group parameters or the
21602 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21603 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21604 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21607 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21608 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21609 customizing the group parameters or the
21610 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21611 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21612 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21613 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21614 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21617 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21618 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21619 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21620 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21621 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21623 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21624 legitimate. All non-whitelisted addresses are considered spammers.
21625 This option is probably not useful for most Gnus users unless the
21626 whitelists is very comprehensive or permissive. Also see @ref{BBDB
21627 Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the Emacs regular expression
21630 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21631 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21632 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21633 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21634 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21635 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21637 @node BBDB Whitelists
21638 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21639 @cindex spam filtering
21640 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21641 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21644 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21646 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21647 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted addresses,
21648 without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded for
21649 @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Only addresses in the BBDB
21650 will be allowed through; all others will be classified as spam.
21654 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21655 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21656 customizing the group parameters or the
21657 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21658 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21659 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21660 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21661 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21665 @subsubsection Blackholes
21666 @cindex spam filtering
21667 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21670 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21672 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21673 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21674 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21675 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21676 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21677 contains outdated servers.
21679 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21680 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21681 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21682 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21683 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21684 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21688 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21690 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21694 @defvar spam-use-dig
21696 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21697 The default setting of t is recommended.
21701 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21702 ham processor for blackholes.
21705 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21706 @cindex spam filtering
21707 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21710 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21712 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21713 speedy Bogofilter. This has been tested with a locally patched copy
21714 of version 0.4. Make sure to read the installation comments in
21717 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{H} mark for spam
21718 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21719 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21720 category, spam or not. The shell command @command{head -1
21721 ~/.bogofilter/*} shows both article counts. The command @kbd{S t} in
21722 summary mode, either for debugging or for curiosity, triggers
21723 Bogofilter into displaying in another buffer the @emph{spamicity}
21724 score of the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0), together with the
21725 article words which most significantly contribute to the score.
21727 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21728 processing will be turned off.
21733 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21734 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21735 customizing the group parameters or the
21736 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21737 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21738 will be added to the bogofilter spam database, and ham-marked articles
21739 will be added to the bogofilter ham database. @strong{Note that the
21740 Bogofilter spam processor is the only spam processor to also do ham
21744 @node ifile spam filtering
21745 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21746 @cindex spam filtering
21747 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21750 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21752 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21753 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21757 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21759 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21760 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21761 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21765 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21767 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21768 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21769 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21772 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21774 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21775 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21779 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21780 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21781 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21782 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21785 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21786 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21787 @cindex spam filtering
21788 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21789 @cindex spam-stat.el
21792 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)}.
21794 @defvar spam-use-stat
21796 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21797 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21801 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21802 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21803 customizing the group parameters or the
21804 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21805 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21806 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21809 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21810 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21811 customizing the group parameters or the
21812 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21813 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21814 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21815 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21816 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21819 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21820 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21821 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21822 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21825 @node Extending spam.el
21826 @subsubsection Extending spam.el
21827 @cindex spam filtering
21828 @cindex spam.el, extending
21829 @cindex extending spam.el
21831 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21832 incoming mail, provide the following:
21840 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21841 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21846 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21848 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21853 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21854 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21855 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21858 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21865 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21866 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21869 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21870 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21871 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21873 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21874 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21875 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
21883 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
21884 (spam-generic-register-routine
21885 ;; the spam function
21887 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21888 (when (stringp from)
21889 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
21890 ;; the ham function
21893 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
21894 (spam-generic-register-routine
21895 ;; the spam function
21897 ;; the ham function
21899 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
21900 (when (stringp from)
21901 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
21904 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
21905 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
21906 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
21907 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
21908 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
21909 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
21914 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)
21915 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics (spam-stat.el)
21916 @cindex Paul Graham
21917 @cindex Graham, Paul
21918 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
21919 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
21920 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
21922 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
21923 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
21924 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
21925 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
21926 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
21927 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
21928 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
21929 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
21930 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
21933 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
21934 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
21935 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
21936 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
21937 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
21938 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
21939 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
21940 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
21942 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
21943 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
21944 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
21945 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
21946 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
21949 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
21950 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
21951 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
21954 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21955 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
21957 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
21958 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
21959 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
21960 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
21961 need several hundred emails in both collections.
21963 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
21964 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
21965 per mail. Use the following:
21967 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
21968 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
21969 is treated as one spam mail.
21972 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
21973 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
21974 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
21977 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
21978 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
21979 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
21980 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
21981 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
21982 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
21984 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
21985 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
21986 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
21987 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
21988 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
21991 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
21992 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
21993 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
21994 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
21997 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
21998 reset the dictionary.
22000 @defun spam-stat-reset
22001 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22004 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22005 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22006 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22007 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22008 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22009 only non-spam mails.
22011 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22012 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22013 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22016 @defun spam-stat-save
22017 Save the dictionary.
22020 @defvar spam-stat-file
22021 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22022 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22025 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22026 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22028 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22029 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22032 (require 'spam-stat)
22036 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22039 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22040 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22041 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22042 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22044 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22045 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22046 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22047 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22050 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22051 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22055 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22056 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22059 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22060 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22061 expression are considered potential spam.
22064 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22065 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22066 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22070 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22071 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22072 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22073 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22074 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22077 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22078 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22079 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22083 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22084 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22085 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22086 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22087 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22091 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22092 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22093 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22094 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22099 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22100 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22102 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22104 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22105 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22106 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22109 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22110 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22111 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22114 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22115 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22116 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22117 already been processed as non-spam.
22120 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22121 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22122 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22123 been processed as spam.
22126 @defun spam-stat-save
22127 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22128 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22131 @defun spam-stat-load
22132 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22133 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22136 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22137 Return the spam score for a word.
22140 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22141 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22144 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22145 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22146 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22149 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22150 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22153 (require 'spam-stat)
22157 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22160 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22161 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22162 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22163 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22164 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22165 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22166 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22167 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22168 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22169 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22170 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22171 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22172 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22173 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22176 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22179 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22180 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22181 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22182 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22183 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22184 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22187 @node Various Various
22188 @section Various Various
22194 @item gnus-home-directory
22195 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
22196 defaults to @file{~/}.
22198 @item gnus-directory
22199 @vindex gnus-directory
22200 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
22201 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
22202 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22204 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22205 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22206 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22207 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22209 @item gnus-default-directory
22210 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22211 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22212 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22213 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22214 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22215 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22216 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22219 @vindex gnus-verbose
22220 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22221 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22222 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22223 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22224 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22226 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22227 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22228 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22229 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22231 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22232 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22233 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22234 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22235 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22236 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22237 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22238 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22239 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22240 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22242 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22243 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22244 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22245 read when doing the operation described above.
22247 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22248 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22250 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22251 @cindex characters in file names
22252 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22253 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22254 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22257 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22261 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22262 Windows (phooey) systems.
22264 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22265 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22266 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22267 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22268 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22270 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22271 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22272 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22273 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22274 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22276 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22277 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22278 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22280 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22281 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22283 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22284 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22285 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22286 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22289 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22297 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22298 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22300 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22302 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22308 Not because of victories @*
22311 but for the common sunshine,@*
22313 the largess of the spring.
22317 but for the day's work done@*
22318 as well as I was able;@*
22319 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22320 but at the common table.@*
22325 @chapter Appendices
22328 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22329 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22330 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22331 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22332 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22333 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22334 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22335 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22336 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22343 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22345 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22346 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22347 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22348 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22349 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22350 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22357 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22358 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22360 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22361 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22362 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22363 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22364 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22366 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22367 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22368 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22369 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22370 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22371 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22373 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22374 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22375 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22376 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22379 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22380 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22381 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22382 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22383 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22384 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22385 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22386 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22387 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22391 @node Gnus Versions
22392 @subsection Gnus Versions
22394 @cindex September Gnus
22396 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22397 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22401 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22402 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22403 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22405 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22406 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22408 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22409 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22411 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22412 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22414 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22415 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22418 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22420 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22421 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22422 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22423 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22424 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22425 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22428 @node Other Gnus Versions
22429 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22432 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22433 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22434 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22435 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22437 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22438 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22439 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22440 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22447 What's the point of Gnus?
22449 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22450 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22451 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22452 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22453 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22454 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22455 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22456 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22457 keep track of millions of people who post?
22459 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22460 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22461 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22462 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22463 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22464 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22465 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22466 every one of you to explore and invent.
22468 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22469 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22472 @node Compatibility
22473 @subsection Compatibility
22475 @cindex compatibility
22476 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22477 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22478 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22483 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22487 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22490 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22493 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22494 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22495 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22496 important variables have their values copied into their global
22497 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22498 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22500 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22501 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22502 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22503 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22504 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22508 @cindex highlighting
22509 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22510 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22511 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22512 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22513 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22514 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22517 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22518 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22519 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22520 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22522 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22523 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22524 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22525 to stop doing it the old way.
22527 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22529 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22531 @cindex reporting bugs
22533 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22534 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22535 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22537 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22538 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22539 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22540 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22545 @subsection Conformity
22547 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22548 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22556 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22560 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22562 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22563 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22564 We do have some breaches to this one.
22570 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22571 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22572 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22573 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22574 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22579 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22580 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22581 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22582 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22584 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22586 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22588 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22589 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22591 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22594 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22595 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22596 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22597 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22598 decoding (verification and decryption).
22600 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22601 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22602 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22603 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22605 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22606 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22608 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22609 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22610 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22611 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22612 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22613 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22614 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22618 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22619 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22624 @subsection Emacsen
22630 Gnus should work on :
22638 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
22642 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22643 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22646 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22647 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22648 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22652 @node Gnus Development
22653 @subsection Gnus Development
22655 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22656 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22657 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22658 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22659 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22660 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22661 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22662 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22664 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22665 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22666 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22667 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22668 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22671 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22672 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22673 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22674 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22675 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22677 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22678 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22679 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22680 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22681 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22682 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22683 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22684 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22685 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22686 can't be assumed to do so.
22691 @subsection Contributors
22692 @cindex contributors
22694 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22695 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22696 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22697 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22698 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22699 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22700 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22701 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22702 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22703 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22705 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
22711 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22714 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22715 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22716 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22717 functionality and stuff.
22720 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22721 well as numerous other things).
22724 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22727 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22730 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22733 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22736 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22737 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22740 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22743 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22744 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22747 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22750 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22753 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22756 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22759 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22760 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22763 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22766 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22769 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22772 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22776 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22779 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22782 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22785 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22786 well as autoconf support.
22790 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22791 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22793 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22802 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22806 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22816 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22831 Massimo Campostrini,
22836 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22837 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22841 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22844 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22850 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22855 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22859 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22867 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22869 Michelangelo Grigni,
22873 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
22875 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
22877 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
22884 François Felix Ingrand,
22885 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
22886 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
22888 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
22899 Peter Skov Knudsen,
22900 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
22902 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
22903 Thor Kristoffersen,
22906 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
22924 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
22925 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
22932 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
22937 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
22941 John McClary Prevost,
22947 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
22952 Christian von Roques,
22955 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
22962 Philippe Schnoebelen,
22964 Randal L. Schwartz,
22978 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
22983 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
22999 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23004 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23005 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23006 (550kB and counting).
23008 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23011 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23012 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23016 @subsection New Features
23017 @cindex new features
23020 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23021 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23022 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23023 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23024 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23027 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23028 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23029 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23032 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23034 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23039 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23040 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23043 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23044 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23047 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23050 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23051 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23052 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23055 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23056 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23057 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23058 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23061 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23062 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23065 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23066 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23067 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23070 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23071 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23074 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23075 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23076 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23079 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23080 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23081 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23084 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23085 the @file{.emacs} file.
23088 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23089 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23092 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23093 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23096 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23097 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23100 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23101 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23104 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23105 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23108 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23111 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23112 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23115 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23116 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23119 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23120 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23123 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23126 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23127 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23130 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23134 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23138 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23139 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23142 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23148 @node September Gnus
23149 @subsubsection September Gnus
23153 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23157 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23162 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23163 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23167 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23168 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23172 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23176 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23177 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23180 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23184 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23187 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23190 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23193 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23197 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23198 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23201 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23205 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23209 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23213 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23217 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23220 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23221 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23224 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23228 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23229 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23232 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23235 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23236 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23237 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23240 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23244 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23247 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23251 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23252 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23255 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23256 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23259 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23260 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23263 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23264 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23265 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23268 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23269 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23272 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23275 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23278 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23281 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23284 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23285 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23288 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23292 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23295 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23300 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23303 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23307 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23310 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23314 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23317 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23320 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23321 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23324 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23325 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23329 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23330 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23333 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23337 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23338 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23341 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23344 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23348 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23352 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23353 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23356 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23360 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23361 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23364 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23365 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23368 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23372 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23375 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23378 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23384 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23386 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23390 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23397 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23400 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23401 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23404 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23405 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23409 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23410 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23413 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23416 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23417 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23420 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23424 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23425 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23429 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23430 Server Internals}).
23433 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23437 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23440 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23441 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23444 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23445 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23446 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23449 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23450 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23453 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23454 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23457 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23461 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23462 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23465 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23466 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23469 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23473 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23476 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23480 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23481 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23484 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23485 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23488 A new command for reading collections of documents
23489 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23490 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23493 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23497 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23498 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23501 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23502 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23503 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23506 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23507 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23511 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23515 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23519 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23524 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23528 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23532 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23533 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23536 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23542 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23544 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23549 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23550 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23551 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23554 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23555 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23556 group, which is created automatically.
23559 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23563 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23566 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23567 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23570 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23574 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23577 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23578 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23581 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23584 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
23585 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
23588 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23589 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
23592 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23593 control over simplification.
23596 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23599 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23603 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23606 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23609 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23610 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23611 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23614 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23615 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23618 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23622 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23623 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23626 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23627 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23630 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23634 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23637 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23640 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23641 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23644 A new function for citing in Message has been
23645 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23648 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23651 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23655 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23656 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23659 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
23660 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23663 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23666 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23670 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23671 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23673 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23678 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23679 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23681 If you used procmail like in
23684 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23685 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23686 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23687 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23690 this now has changed to
23694 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23698 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23699 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23702 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23703 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23706 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23707 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23710 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23711 called to position point.
23714 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23715 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23718 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23719 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23722 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23723 subtly different manner.
23726 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23727 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23728 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23731 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23739 @section The Manual
23743 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23744 either @code{texi2dvi}
23746 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23747 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23749 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23751 The following conventions have been used:
23756 This is a @samp{string}
23759 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23762 This is a @file{file}
23765 This is a @code{symbol}
23769 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23773 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23776 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23779 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23782 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23783 ever get them confused.
23787 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23788 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23789 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23790 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23791 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23792 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23793 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23799 @node On Writing Manuals
23800 @section On Writing Manuals
23802 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23803 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23804 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23805 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23806 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23807 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23810 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23811 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23812 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23815 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23816 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23821 @section Terminology
23823 @cindex terminology
23828 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23829 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23830 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23831 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23832 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23836 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23837 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23838 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23839 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23843 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23847 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23852 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23853 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23854 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23855 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23856 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23857 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23858 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23859 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23860 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23862 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23863 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23864 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23865 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23866 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23869 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23870 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23871 access the articles.
23873 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
23874 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
23875 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
23880 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
23881 default, way of getting news.
23885 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
23886 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
23891 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
23892 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
23896 A message that has been posted as news.
23899 @cindex mail message
23900 A message that has been mailed.
23904 A mail message or news article
23908 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
23913 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
23918 A line from the head of an article.
23922 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
23923 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
23927 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
23928 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
23929 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
23930 normal @sc{head} format.
23934 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
23935 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
23936 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
23937 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
23938 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
23939 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
23941 @item killed groups
23942 @cindex killed groups
23943 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
23944 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
23946 @item zombie groups
23947 @cindex zombie groups
23948 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
23951 @cindex active file
23952 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
23953 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23954 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23957 @cindex bogus groups
23958 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
23959 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
23960 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
23963 @cindex activating groups
23964 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
23965 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
23966 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
23970 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
23972 @item select method
23973 @cindex select method
23974 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
23977 @item virtual server
23978 @cindex virtual server
23979 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
23980 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
23981 whole is a virtual server.
23985 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
23986 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
23989 @item ephemeral groups
23990 @cindex ephemeral groups
23991 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
23992 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
23993 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
23996 @cindex solid groups
23997 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
23998 group buffer are solid groups.
24000 @item sparse articles
24001 @cindex sparse articles
24002 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24003 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24007 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24008 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24012 @cindex thread root
24013 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24014 articles in the thread.
24018 An article that has responses.
24022 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24026 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24027 specified by RFC 1153.
24033 @node Customization
24034 @section Customization
24035 @cindex general customization
24037 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24038 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24039 for some quite common situations.
24042 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24043 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24044 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24045 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24049 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24050 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24052 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24053 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24054 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24058 @item gnus-read-active-file
24059 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24060 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24061 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24062 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24063 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24065 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24066 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24067 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24068 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24072 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24073 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24075 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24076 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24077 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24081 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24082 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24083 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24084 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24085 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24087 @item gnus-visible-headers
24088 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24089 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24090 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24091 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24093 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24095 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24096 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24097 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24100 @item gnus-use-full-window
24101 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24102 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24103 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24104 want to read them anyway.
24106 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24107 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24111 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24112 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24113 lines, which might save some time.
24117 @node Little Disk Space
24118 @subsection Little Disk Space
24121 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24122 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24126 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24127 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24128 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24129 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24132 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24133 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24134 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24135 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24138 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24139 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24140 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24141 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24142 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24148 @subsection Slow Machine
24149 @cindex slow machine
24151 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24152 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24154 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24155 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24157 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24158 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24159 summary buffer faster.
24163 @node Troubleshooting
24164 @section Troubleshooting
24165 @cindex troubleshooting
24167 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24175 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24178 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24179 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24183 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24184 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
24185 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
24186 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24189 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24193 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24194 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24195 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24196 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24197 something like that.
24200 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24203 @cindex reporting bugs
24205 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24207 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24208 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24209 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24210 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24212 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24213 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24214 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24215 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24218 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24219 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24220 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24221 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24222 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24223 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24225 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24226 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24227 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24231 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24232 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24235 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24236 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24237 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24238 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24239 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24240 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24241 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24242 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24243 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24244 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24245 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24246 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24247 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24248 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24253 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24254 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24255 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press C-j when things are
24256 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24257 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24258 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24259 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24260 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24261 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24262 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24263 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24264 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24265 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24266 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24267 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24268 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24269 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24270 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24272 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24273 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24275 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24276 @cindex ding mailing list
24277 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
24278 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24282 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24283 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24285 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24286 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24287 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24288 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24291 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24292 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24293 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24294 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24295 and general methods of operation.
24298 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24299 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24300 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24301 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24302 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24303 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24304 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24305 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24306 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24310 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24311 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24312 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24313 @cindex utility functions
24315 @cindex internal variables
24317 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24318 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24319 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24323 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24324 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24325 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24327 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24328 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24329 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24331 @item gnus-group-real-name
24332 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24333 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24336 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24337 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24338 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24339 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24341 @item gnus-get-info
24342 @findex gnus-get-info
24343 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24345 @item gnus-group-unread
24346 @findex gnus-group-unread
24347 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24351 @findex gnus-active
24352 The active entry for @var{group}.
24354 @item gnus-set-active
24355 @findex gnus-set-active
24356 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24358 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24359 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24360 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24363 @item gnus-continuum-version
24364 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24365 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24366 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24369 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24370 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24371 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24373 @item gnus-news-group-p
24374 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24375 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24377 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24378 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24379 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24381 @item gnus-server-to-method
24382 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24383 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24385 @item gnus-server-equal
24386 @findex gnus-server-equal
24387 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24389 @item gnus-group-native-p
24390 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24391 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24393 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24394 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24395 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24397 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24398 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24399 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24401 @item group-group-find-parameter
24402 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24403 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24404 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24406 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24407 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24408 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24410 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24411 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24412 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24414 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24415 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24416 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24417 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24420 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24424 @item gnus-read-method
24425 @findex gnus-read-method
24426 Prompts the user for a select method.
24431 @node Back End Interface
24432 @subsection Back End Interface
24434 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24435 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24436 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24437 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24438 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24439 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24441 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24442 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24443 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24444 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24445 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24446 been opened, the function should fail.
24448 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24449 name. Take this example:
24453 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24454 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24457 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24458 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24460 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24461 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24462 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24464 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24465 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24466 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24468 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24469 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24470 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24471 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24472 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24473 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24476 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24477 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24478 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24479 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24482 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24483 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24484 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24485 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24486 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24487 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24488 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24489 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24490 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24491 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24493 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24494 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24495 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24496 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24497 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24498 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24499 of numbers as long as possible.
24501 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24502 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24503 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24505 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24508 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24511 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24512 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24513 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24514 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24515 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24516 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24520 @node Required Back End Functions
24521 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24525 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24527 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24528 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24529 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24530 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24532 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24533 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24534 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24535 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24537 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
24538 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24539 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24540 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24541 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24542 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24543 number, do maximum fetches.
24545 Here's an example HEAD:
24548 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24549 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24550 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24551 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24552 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24553 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24554 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24556 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24557 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24558 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24562 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24563 these in the data buffer.
24565 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24569 head = error / valid-head
24570 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24571 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24572 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24573 header = <text> eol
24576 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24577 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24581 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24582 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24583 field = <text except TAB>
24586 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24590 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24592 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24593 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24595 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24596 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24597 server. In fact, it should do so.
24599 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24600 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24603 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24605 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24606 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24609 There should be no data returned.
24612 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24614 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24615 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24616 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24617 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24619 There should be no data returned.
24622 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24624 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24625 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24626 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24627 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24629 There should be no data returned.
24632 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24634 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24636 There should be no data returned.
24639 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24641 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24642 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24643 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24644 it would be nice if that were possible.
24646 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24647 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24648 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24649 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24650 into its article buffer.
24652 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24653 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24654 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24655 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24656 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24657 on successful article retrieval.
24660 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24662 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24663 making @var{group} the current group.
24665 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24668 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24671 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24674 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24675 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24676 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24677 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24678 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24679 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24680 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24681 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24682 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24686 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24687 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24688 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24692 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24694 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24695 a no-op on most back ends.
24697 There should be no data returned.
24700 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24702 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24705 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24708 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24709 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24712 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24713 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24714 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24715 and the highest as 0.
24718 active-file = *active-line
24719 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24721 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24724 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24725 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24726 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24729 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24731 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24732 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24733 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24734 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24735 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24736 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24738 There should be no result data from this function.
24743 @node Optional Back End Functions
24744 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24748 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24750 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24751 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24752 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24754 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24755 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24756 former is in the same format as the data from
24757 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24758 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24761 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24765 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24767 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24768 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24769 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24770 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24771 should return a non-nil value.
24773 There should be no result data from this function.
24776 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24778 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24779 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24780 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24781 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24782 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24783 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24784 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24785 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24787 There should be no result data from this function.
24790 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24792 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24793 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24794 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24795 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24796 propagate the mark information to the server.
24798 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24801 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24804 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
24805 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
24806 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
24807 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
24808 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24809 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24810 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24811 possible, not limit itself to these.
24813 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24814 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24815 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24816 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24818 An example action list:
24821 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24822 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24823 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24826 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24827 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24829 There should be no result data from this function.
24831 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24833 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24834 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24835 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24836 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24837 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24839 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24840 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24841 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24844 There should be no result data from this function.
24847 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24849 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24850 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24851 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24852 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24853 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24854 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24855 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24857 There should be no result data from this function.
24860 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24862 The result data from this function should be a description of
24866 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24868 description = <text>
24871 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
24873 The result data from this function should be the description of all
24874 groups available on the server.
24877 description-buffer = *description-line
24881 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
24883 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
24884 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
24885 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
24886 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
24887 in the active buffer format.
24889 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
24890 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
24891 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
24892 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
24893 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
24894 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
24895 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
24898 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24900 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
24902 There should be no return data.
24905 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
24907 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
24908 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
24909 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
24910 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
24911 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
24914 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
24917 There should be no result data returned.
24920 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
24923 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
24924 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
24926 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
24927 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
24928 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
24929 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
24930 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
24931 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
24933 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
24934 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
24937 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24938 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24940 There should be no data returned.
24943 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
24945 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
24946 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
24947 this function in short order.
24949 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
24950 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
24952 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
24953 article for that group.
24955 There should be no data returned.
24958 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
24960 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
24961 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
24963 There should be no data returned.
24966 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
24968 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
24969 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
24970 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
24972 There should be no data returned.
24975 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
24977 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
24978 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
24980 There should be no data returned.
24985 @node Error Messaging
24986 @subsubsection Error Messaging
24988 @findex nnheader-report
24989 @findex nnheader-get-report
24990 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
24991 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
24992 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
24993 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
24994 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
24995 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
24998 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25000 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25003 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25004 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25005 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25006 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25008 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25009 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25010 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25013 @node Writing New Back Ends
25014 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25016 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25017 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25018 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25019 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25020 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25023 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25024 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25025 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25027 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25028 package called @code{nnoo}.
25030 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25031 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25037 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25038 parameters. For instance:
25041 (nnoo-declare nndir
25045 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25046 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25049 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25050 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25051 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25053 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25054 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25055 a function in those back ends.
25058 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25059 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25060 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25063 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25064 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25065 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25067 @item nnoo-define-basics
25068 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25072 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25076 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25077 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25078 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25080 @item nnoo-map-functions
25081 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25082 functions from the parent back ends.
25085 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25086 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25087 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25090 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25091 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25092 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25093 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25096 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25097 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25098 haven't already been defined.
25104 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25108 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25109 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25110 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25115 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25118 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25119 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25123 (require 'nnheader)
25127 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25129 (nnoo-declare nndir
25132 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25133 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25134 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25136 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25137 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25140 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25142 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25143 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25144 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25146 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25147 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25149 ;;; Interface functions.
25151 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25153 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25154 (setq nndir-directory
25155 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25157 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25158 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25159 (push `(nndir-current-group
25160 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25161 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25163 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25164 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25166 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25168 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25169 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25170 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25171 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25172 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25176 nnmh-status-message
25178 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25184 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25185 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25187 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25188 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25189 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25190 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25191 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25193 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25194 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25199 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25202 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25204 The abilities can be:
25208 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25210 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25212 This back end supports both mail and news.
25214 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25217 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25218 articles and groups.
25220 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25221 true for almost all back ends.
25222 @item prompt-address
25223 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25224 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25225 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25229 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25230 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25232 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25233 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25234 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25235 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25238 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25239 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25240 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25243 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25244 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25247 This function takes four parameters.
25251 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25254 @item exit-function
25255 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25257 @item temp-directory
25258 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25261 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25262 performed for one group only.
25265 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25266 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25267 find the article number assigned to this article.
25269 The function also uses the following variables:
25270 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25271 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25272 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25273 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25277 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25278 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25282 @node Score File Syntax
25283 @subsection Score File Syntax
25285 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25286 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25287 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25289 Here's a typical score file:
25293 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25300 BNF definition of a score file:
25303 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25304 element = rule / atom
25305 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25306 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25307 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25308 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25310 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25311 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25312 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25313 date-header = "date"
25314 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25315 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25316 score = "nil" / <integer>
25317 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25318 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25319 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25320 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25321 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25322 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25323 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25324 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25325 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25326 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25327 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25328 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25329 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25330 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25331 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25332 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25333 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25334 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25335 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25336 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25337 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25338 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25339 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25340 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25341 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25342 eval = "eval" space <form>
25343 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25346 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25349 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25350 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25351 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25352 one looong line, then that's ok.
25354 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25355 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25359 @subsection Headers
25361 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25362 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25363 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25364 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25366 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25367 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25368 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25369 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25370 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25371 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25372 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25374 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25375 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25376 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25377 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25378 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25380 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25381 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25387 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25388 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25390 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25391 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25392 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25393 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25395 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25399 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25402 is transformed into
25405 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25408 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25409 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25412 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25415 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25416 is slightly tricky:
25419 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25425 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25428 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25434 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25441 and is equal to the previous range.
25443 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25444 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25445 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25449 range = simple-range / normal-range
25450 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25451 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25452 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25453 number *[ " " contents ]
25456 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25457 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25458 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25459 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25460 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25465 @subsection Group Info
25467 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25468 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25469 describes the group.
25471 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25472 second is a more complex one:
25475 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25477 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25478 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25480 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25483 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25484 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25485 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25486 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25487 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25488 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25489 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25490 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25491 this section is about.
25493 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25494 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25495 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25497 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25500 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25501 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25502 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25503 group = quote <string> quote
25504 ralevel = rank / level
25505 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25506 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25507 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25509 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25510 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25511 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25512 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25515 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25516 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25519 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25520 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25523 @item gnus-info-group
25524 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25525 @findex gnus-info-group
25526 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25527 Get/set the group name.
25529 @item gnus-info-rank
25530 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25531 @findex gnus-info-rank
25532 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25533 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25535 @item gnus-info-level
25536 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25537 @findex gnus-info-level
25538 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25539 Get/set the group level.
25541 @item gnus-info-score
25542 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25543 @findex gnus-info-score
25544 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25545 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25547 @item gnus-info-read
25548 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25549 @findex gnus-info-read
25550 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25551 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25553 @item gnus-info-marks
25554 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25555 @findex gnus-info-marks
25556 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25557 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25559 @item gnus-info-method
25560 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25561 @findex gnus-info-method
25562 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25563 Get/set the group select method.
25565 @item gnus-info-params
25566 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25567 @findex gnus-info-params
25568 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25569 Get/set the group parameters.
25572 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25573 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25575 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25576 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25577 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25578 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25581 @node Extended Interactive
25582 @subsection Extended Interactive
25583 @cindex interactive
25584 @findex gnus-interactive
25586 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25587 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25588 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25591 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25592 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25597 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25598 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25599 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25600 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25601 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25602 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25603 @code{interactive}.
25605 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25610 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25611 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25615 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25616 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25617 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25620 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25624 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25628 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25634 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25635 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25639 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25640 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25641 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25643 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25644 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25645 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25646 Gnus, that's very useful.
25648 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25649 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25650 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25651 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25652 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25653 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25654 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25655 following function:
25658 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25662 (,function ,@@args))
25666 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25667 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25668 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25671 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25672 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25673 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25675 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25676 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25677 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25680 @node Various File Formats
25681 @subsection Various File Formats
25684 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25685 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25689 @node Active File Format
25690 @subsubsection Active File Format
25692 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25693 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25696 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25699 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25700 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25701 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25702 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25703 no.general 1000 900 y
25706 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25709 active = *group-line
25710 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25711 group = <non-white-space string>
25713 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25714 low-number = <positive integer>
25715 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25718 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25719 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25722 @node Newsgroups File Format
25723 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25725 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25726 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25727 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25730 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25731 Here's the definition:
25735 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25736 group = <non-white-space string>
25738 description = <string>
25743 @node Emacs for Heathens
25744 @section Emacs for Heathens
25746 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25747 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25748 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25749 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25750 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25751 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25752 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25756 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25757 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25762 @subsection Keystrokes
25766 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25769 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25772 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25773 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25774 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25775 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25776 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25777 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25779 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25780 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25781 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25782 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25783 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25784 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25785 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25787 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25788 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25789 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25790 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25791 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25792 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25793 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25795 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25796 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25797 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25798 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25799 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25805 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25807 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25808 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25809 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25810 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25812 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25813 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25814 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25815 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25816 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25817 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25818 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25821 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25822 write the following:
25825 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25828 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25829 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25830 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25833 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
25834 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25835 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25836 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25837 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25839 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25840 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25841 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25845 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25849 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25852 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25853 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25856 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25859 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25860 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25863 @include gnus-faq.texi
25883 @c Local Variables:
25885 @c coding: iso-8859-1
25887 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
25888 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
25889 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
25890 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
25891 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref