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308 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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325 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
335 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
337 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
345 @top The Gnus Newsreader
349 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
350 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
351 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
354 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
355 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
370 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
371 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
373 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
374 being accused of plagiarism:
376 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
377 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
378 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
379 can even read news with it!
381 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
382 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
383 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
384 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
385 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
388 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
389 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
391 @heading Other related manuals
393 @item Message manual: Composing messages
394 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
395 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
396 @item PGG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
397 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
403 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
404 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
405 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
406 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
407 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
408 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
409 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
410 * Various:: General purpose settings.
411 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
412 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
413 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
414 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
415 * Key Index:: Key Index.
417 Other related manuals
419 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
420 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
421 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
422 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
423 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
426 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
430 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
431 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
432 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
433 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
434 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
435 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
438 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
439 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
440 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
444 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
445 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
446 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
450 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
451 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
452 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
453 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
454 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
455 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
456 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
457 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
458 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
459 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
460 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
461 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
462 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
463 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
464 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
465 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
466 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
467 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
471 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
472 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
473 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
477 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
478 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
479 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
480 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
481 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
485 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
486 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
487 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
488 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
489 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
493 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
494 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
495 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
496 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
497 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
498 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
499 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
500 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
501 * Threading:: How threads are made.
502 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
503 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
504 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
505 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
506 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
507 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
508 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
509 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
510 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
511 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
512 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
513 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
514 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
515 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
516 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
517 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
518 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
519 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
520 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
521 or reselecting the current group.
522 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
523 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
524 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
525 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
527 Summary Buffer Format
529 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
530 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
531 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
532 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
536 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
537 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
539 Reply, Followup and Post
541 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
542 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
543 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
544 * Canceling and Superseding::
548 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
549 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
550 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
551 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
552 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
553 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
557 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
558 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
560 Customizing Threading
562 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
563 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
564 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
565 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
569 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
570 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
571 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
572 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
573 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
574 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
578 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
579 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
580 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
584 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
585 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
586 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
587 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
588 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
589 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
590 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
591 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
592 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
593 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
594 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
596 Alternative Approaches
598 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
599 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
601 Various Summary Stuff
603 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
604 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
605 * Summary Generation Commands::
606 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
610 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
611 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
612 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
613 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
614 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
618 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
619 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
620 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
621 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
622 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
623 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
624 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
625 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
626 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
630 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
631 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
632 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
633 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
634 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
635 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
636 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
637 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
638 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
642 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
643 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
644 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
645 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
646 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
647 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
648 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
652 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
653 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
657 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
658 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
659 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
660 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
664 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
665 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
666 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
667 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
668 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
669 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
670 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
671 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
672 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
673 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
674 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
675 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
676 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
680 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
681 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
682 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
684 Choosing a Mail Back End
686 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
687 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
688 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
689 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
690 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
691 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
692 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
697 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
698 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
699 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
703 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
704 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
705 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
706 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
710 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
714 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
718 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
719 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
720 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
724 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
725 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
726 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
728 The Gnus Diary Library
730 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
731 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
732 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
733 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
737 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
738 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
739 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
740 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
741 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
742 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
743 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
744 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
745 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
746 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
747 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
748 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
749 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
750 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
754 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
755 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
756 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
760 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
761 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
762 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
766 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
767 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
768 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
769 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
770 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
771 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
772 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
773 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
774 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
775 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
776 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
777 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
778 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
779 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
780 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
781 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
785 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
786 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
787 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
791 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
792 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
793 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
794 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
795 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
796 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
797 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
798 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
799 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
800 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
801 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
802 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
803 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
804 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
805 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
806 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
807 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
808 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
809 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
810 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
814 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
815 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
816 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
817 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
818 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
819 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
820 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
821 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
825 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
826 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
827 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
829 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
830 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
834 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
835 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
836 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
837 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
841 * Spam Package Introduction::
842 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
843 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
844 * Spam and Ham Processors::
845 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
847 * Extending the Spam package::
848 * Spam Statistics Package::
850 Spam Statistics Package
852 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
853 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
854 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
858 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
859 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
860 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
861 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
862 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
863 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
864 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
865 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
866 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
870 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
871 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
872 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
873 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
874 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
875 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
876 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
877 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
878 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
882 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
883 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
884 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
885 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
886 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
887 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
888 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
892 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
893 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
894 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
895 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
899 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
900 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
901 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
902 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
903 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
904 * Group Info:: The group info format.
905 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
906 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
907 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
911 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
912 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
913 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
914 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
915 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
916 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
920 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
921 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
925 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
926 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
932 @chapter Starting Gnus
935 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
940 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
941 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
942 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
943 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
944 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
945 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
947 @findex gnus-other-frame
948 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
949 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
950 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
952 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
953 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
954 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
956 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
957 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
960 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
961 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
962 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
963 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
964 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
965 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
966 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
967 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
968 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
969 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
973 @node Finding the News
974 @section Finding the News
977 First of all, you should know that there is a special buffer called
978 @code{*Server*} that lists all the servers Gnus knows about. You can
979 press @kbd{^} from the Group buffer to see it. In the Server buffer,
980 you can press @kbd{RET} on a defined server to see all the groups it
981 serves (subscribed or not!). You can also add or delete servers, edit
982 a foreign server's definition, agentize or de-agentize a server, and
983 do many other neat things. @xref{Server Buffer}.
984 @xref{Foreign Groups}. @xref{Agent Basics}.
986 @vindex gnus-select-method
988 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
989 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
990 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
991 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
994 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
995 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
998 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1001 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1004 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1007 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1008 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1009 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1010 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1012 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1014 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1015 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1016 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1017 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1018 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1019 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1020 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1022 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1023 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1024 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1025 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1027 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1028 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1029 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1030 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1031 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1032 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1033 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1034 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1035 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1038 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1040 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1041 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1042 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1043 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1044 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1045 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1047 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1049 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1050 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1051 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1052 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1053 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1054 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1057 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1058 you would typically set this variable to
1061 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1064 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1065 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1066 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1067 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1070 @node The First Time
1071 @section The First Time
1072 @cindex first time usage
1074 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1075 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1077 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1078 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1079 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1080 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1083 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1084 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1085 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1087 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1088 help you with most common problems.
1090 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1091 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1095 @node The Server is Down
1096 @section The Server is Down
1097 @cindex server errors
1099 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1100 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1101 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1103 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1104 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1105 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1106 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1107 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1108 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1109 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1111 @findex gnus-no-server
1112 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1114 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1115 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1116 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1117 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1118 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1119 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1120 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1124 @section Slave Gnusae
1127 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1128 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1129 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1130 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1132 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1133 @file{.newsrc} file.
1135 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1136 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1137 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1138 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1139 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1140 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1141 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1144 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1145 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1146 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1147 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1148 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1149 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1150 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1151 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1153 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1154 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1156 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1157 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1158 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1159 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1160 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1167 @cindex subscription
1169 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1170 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1171 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1172 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1173 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1174 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1175 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1176 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1177 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1180 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1181 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1182 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1186 @node Checking New Groups
1187 @subsection Checking New Groups
1189 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1190 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1191 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1192 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1193 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1194 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1195 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1196 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1197 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1198 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1200 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1201 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1202 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1203 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1204 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1205 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1206 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1207 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1208 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1209 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1210 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1212 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1213 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1214 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1215 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1216 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1217 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1220 @node Subscription Methods
1221 @subsection Subscription Methods
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1224 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1225 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1227 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1228 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1230 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1234 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1235 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1236 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1237 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1238 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1242 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1243 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1245 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1247 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1249 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1251 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1252 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1253 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1254 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1255 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1256 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1257 up. Or something like that.
1259 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1260 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1261 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1262 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1263 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1265 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1266 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1267 Kill all new groups.
1269 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1271 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1272 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1273 topic parameter that looks like
1279 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1282 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1287 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1288 A closely related variable is
1289 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1290 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1291 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1292 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1295 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1296 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1297 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1298 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1301 @node Filtering New Groups
1302 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1304 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1305 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1306 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1309 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1312 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1313 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1314 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1315 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1316 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1317 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1318 subscribing these groups.
1319 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1320 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1322 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1323 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1324 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1325 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1326 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1327 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1328 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1329 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1331 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1332 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1333 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1334 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1335 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1336 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1337 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1338 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1339 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1340 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1343 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1344 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1347 @node Changing Servers
1348 @section Changing Servers
1349 @cindex changing servers
1351 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1352 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1353 very flaky and you want to use another.
1355 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1356 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1360 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1361 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1362 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1363 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1366 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1367 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1368 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1369 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1372 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1373 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1374 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1375 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1377 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1378 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1379 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1380 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1381 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1382 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1383 cache for all groups).
1387 @section Startup Files
1388 @cindex startup files
1393 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1394 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1395 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1398 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1399 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1400 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1401 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1402 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1403 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1404 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1406 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1407 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1408 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1409 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1410 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1411 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1413 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1414 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1415 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1416 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1417 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1418 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1419 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1420 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1421 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1422 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1423 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1426 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1427 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1428 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1429 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1430 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1431 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1432 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1433 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1434 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1435 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1436 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1437 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1439 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1440 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1441 @vindex version-control
1442 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1443 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1444 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1445 If you want version control for this file, set
1446 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1447 @code{version-control} variable.
1449 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1450 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1451 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1452 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1453 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1454 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1455 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1456 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1457 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1458 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1461 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1462 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1464 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1465 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1468 @vindex gnus-init-file
1469 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1470 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1471 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1472 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1473 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1474 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1475 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1476 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1477 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1478 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1479 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1480 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1481 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1486 @cindex dribble file
1489 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1490 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1491 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1492 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1493 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1496 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1497 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1500 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1501 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1502 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1504 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1505 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1506 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1507 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1508 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1509 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1511 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1512 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1513 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1516 @node The Active File
1517 @section The Active File
1519 @cindex ignored groups
1521 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1522 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1523 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1525 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1526 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1527 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1528 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1529 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1530 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1531 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1534 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1535 @c if you set it to anything else.
1537 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1539 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1540 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1541 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1543 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1544 you actually subscribe to.
1546 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1547 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1548 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1549 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1551 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1552 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1553 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1554 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1555 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1556 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1558 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1559 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1560 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1563 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1564 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1565 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1566 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1567 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1568 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1570 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1571 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1573 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1574 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1576 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1577 secondary select methods.
1580 @node Startup Variables
1581 @section Startup Variables
1585 @item gnus-load-hook
1586 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1587 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1588 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1589 times you start Gnus.
1591 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1592 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1593 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1595 @item gnus-startup-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1597 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1599 @item gnus-started-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1601 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1604 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1605 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1606 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1607 generating the group buffer.
1609 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1610 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1611 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1612 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1613 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1614 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1615 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1616 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1618 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1619 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1620 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1621 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1622 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1623 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1625 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1626 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1627 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1629 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1630 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1631 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1632 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1633 group operation some.
1639 @chapter Group Buffer
1640 @cindex group buffer
1642 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1644 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1645 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1646 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1647 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1648 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1649 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1650 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1651 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1652 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1653 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1654 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1655 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1656 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1657 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1658 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1659 @c human rights at 9...
1662 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1663 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1664 long as Gnus is active.
1668 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1669 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1670 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1671 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1672 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1673 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1674 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1675 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1681 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1682 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1683 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1684 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1685 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1686 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1687 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1688 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1689 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1690 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1691 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1692 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1693 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1694 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1695 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1696 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1697 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1698 * Searching:: Mail search engines.
1699 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1703 @node Group Buffer Format
1704 @section Group Buffer Format
1707 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1708 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1709 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1712 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1713 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1716 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1717 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1718 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1719 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1722 @node Group Line Specification
1723 @subsection Group Line Specification
1724 @cindex group buffer format
1726 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1727 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1729 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1732 25: news.announce.newusers
1733 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1738 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1739 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1740 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1741 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1743 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1744 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1745 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1746 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1747 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1748 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1750 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1752 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1753 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1754 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1755 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1756 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1758 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1759 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1760 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1762 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1767 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1770 Whether the group is subscribed.
1773 Level of subscribedness.
1776 Number of unread articles.
1779 Number of dormant articles.
1782 Number of ticked articles.
1785 Number of read articles.
1788 Number of unseen articles.
1791 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1792 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1794 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1795 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1796 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1797 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1798 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1799 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1800 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1802 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1803 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1804 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1805 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1806 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1807 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1808 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1811 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1814 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1823 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1824 comment element in the group parameters.
1827 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1828 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1829 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1833 @samp{m} if moderated.
1836 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1842 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1848 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1852 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1855 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1856 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1857 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1858 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1859 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1862 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1864 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1868 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1871 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1875 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1876 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1877 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1878 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1881 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1882 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1883 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1884 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1885 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1886 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1891 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1892 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1893 group, or a bogus native group.
1896 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1897 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1898 @cindex group mode line
1900 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1901 The mode line can be changed by setting
1902 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1903 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1907 The native news server.
1909 The native select method.
1913 @node Group Highlighting
1914 @subsection Group Highlighting
1915 @cindex highlighting
1916 @cindex group highlighting
1918 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1919 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1920 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1921 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1922 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1924 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1928 (cond (window-system
1929 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1930 (defface my-group-face-1
1931 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1932 (defface my-group-face-2
1933 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1934 "Second group face")
1935 (defface my-group-face-3
1936 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1937 (defface my-group-face-4
1938 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1939 (defface my-group-face-5
1940 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1942 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1943 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1944 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1945 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1946 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1947 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1950 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1952 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1959 The number of unread articles in the group.
1963 Whether the group is a mail group.
1965 The level of the group.
1967 The score of the group.
1969 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1971 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1972 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1974 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1975 topic being inserted.
1978 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1979 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1980 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1982 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1983 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1984 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1985 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1988 @node Group Maneuvering
1989 @section Group Maneuvering
1990 @cindex group movement
1992 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1993 expected, hopefully.
1999 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2000 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2001 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2007 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2008 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2009 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2013 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2014 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2018 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2019 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2023 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2024 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2025 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2029 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2030 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2031 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2034 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2040 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2041 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2042 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2047 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2048 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2049 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2053 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2054 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2055 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2058 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2059 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2060 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2061 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2064 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2065 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2066 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2067 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2070 @node Selecting a Group
2071 @section Selecting a Group
2072 @cindex group selection
2077 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2078 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2079 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2080 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2081 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2082 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2083 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2084 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2085 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2086 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2088 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2089 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2090 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2092 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2093 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2098 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2099 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2100 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2101 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2102 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2106 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2107 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2108 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2109 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2110 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2111 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2112 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2113 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2114 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2115 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2118 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2119 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2120 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2121 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2122 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2125 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2126 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2127 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2128 doing any processing of its contents
2129 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2130 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2131 manner will have no permanent effects.
2135 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2136 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2137 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2138 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2139 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2140 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2141 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2142 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2143 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2144 most recently will be fetched.
2146 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2147 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2148 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2151 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2152 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2153 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2154 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2155 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2156 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2157 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2158 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2159 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2160 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2161 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2162 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2163 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2164 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2165 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2166 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2167 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2169 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2170 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2171 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2172 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2173 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2174 Which article this is controlled by the
2175 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2181 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2184 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2187 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2189 @item unseen-or-unread
2190 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2191 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2195 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2199 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2200 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2202 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2203 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2204 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2205 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2209 @node Subscription Commands
2210 @section Subscription Commands
2211 @cindex subscription
2219 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2220 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2221 Toggle subscription to the current group
2222 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2228 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2229 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2230 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2231 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2238 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2239 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2245 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2246 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2249 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2250 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2251 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2252 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2253 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2259 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2260 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2264 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2265 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2268 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2269 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2270 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2271 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2272 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2273 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2274 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2275 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2276 @file{.newsrc} file.
2280 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2290 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2291 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2292 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2293 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2294 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2295 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2300 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2301 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2302 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2306 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2307 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2308 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2310 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2311 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2312 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2313 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2314 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2315 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2322 @section Group Levels
2326 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2327 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2328 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2329 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2330 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2332 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2338 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2339 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2340 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2341 prompted for a level.
2344 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2345 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2346 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2347 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2348 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2349 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2350 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2351 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2352 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2353 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2354 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2355 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2356 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2357 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2358 reasons of efficiency.
2360 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2361 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2363 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2364 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2365 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2366 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2367 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2368 groups are hidden, in a way.
2370 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2371 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2372 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2373 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2374 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2375 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2377 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2378 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2379 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2380 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2381 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2382 list of killed groups.)
2384 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2385 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2386 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2388 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2389 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2390 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2391 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2392 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2393 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2394 relevant valid ranges.
2396 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2397 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2398 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2399 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2400 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2401 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2404 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2405 one with the best level.
2407 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2408 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2409 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2412 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2413 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2414 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2415 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2418 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2419 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2420 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2421 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2423 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2424 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2425 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2426 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2427 to 5. The default is 6.
2431 @section Group Score
2436 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2437 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2438 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2441 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2442 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2443 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2444 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2445 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2446 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2447 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2448 least significant part.))
2450 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2451 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2452 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2453 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2454 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2455 action after each summary exit, you can add
2456 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2457 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2458 slow things down somewhat.
2461 @node Marking Groups
2462 @section Marking Groups
2463 @cindex marking groups
2465 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2466 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2467 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2468 bidding on those groups.
2470 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2471 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2472 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2480 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2481 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2487 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2488 Remove the mark from the current group
2489 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2494 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2499 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2504 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2508 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2509 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2510 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2513 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2515 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2516 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2517 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2518 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2519 the command to be executed.
2522 @node Foreign Groups
2523 @section Foreign Groups
2524 @cindex foreign groups
2526 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2527 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2528 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2529 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2532 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2533 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2534 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2540 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2541 @cindex making groups
2542 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2543 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2544 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2548 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2549 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2550 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2554 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2555 @cindex renaming groups
2556 Rename the current group to something else
2557 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2558 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2564 @findex gnus-group-customize
2565 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2569 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2570 @cindex renaming groups
2571 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2572 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2576 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2577 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2578 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2582 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2583 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2584 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2588 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2590 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2591 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2596 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2597 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2601 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2603 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2604 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2605 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2609 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2610 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2612 Make a group based on some file or other
2613 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2614 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2615 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2616 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2617 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2618 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2619 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2620 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2621 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2625 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2626 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2627 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2628 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2632 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2636 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2637 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2638 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2639 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2640 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2641 @xref{Web Searches}.
2643 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2644 to a particular group by using a match string like
2645 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2649 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2650 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2651 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2655 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2656 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2657 This function will delete the current group
2658 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2659 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2660 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2661 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2662 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2666 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2667 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2668 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2672 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2673 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2674 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2677 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2680 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2681 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2682 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2683 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2684 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2685 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2689 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2690 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2693 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2694 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2695 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2696 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2697 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2698 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2701 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2702 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2703 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2704 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2705 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2706 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2707 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2708 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2709 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2710 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2712 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2713 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2714 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2715 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2716 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2718 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2719 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2720 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2721 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2724 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2732 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2733 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2734 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2738 @node Group Parameters
2739 @section Group Parameters
2740 @cindex group parameters
2742 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2744 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2745 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2746 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2747 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2748 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2749 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2750 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2752 Here's an example group parameter list:
2755 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2759 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2760 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2761 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2762 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2764 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2765 is an alist of regexps and values.
2767 The following group parameters can be used:
2772 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2775 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2778 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2779 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2780 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2781 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2782 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2784 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2785 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2786 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2787 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2788 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2789 list address instead.
2791 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2795 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2798 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2801 It is totally ignored
2802 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2803 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2805 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2806 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2807 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2808 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2809 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2811 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2812 @cindex mail list groups
2813 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2814 entering summary buffer.
2816 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2821 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2822 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2823 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2824 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2825 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2826 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2827 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2828 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2831 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2832 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2835 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2836 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2840 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2841 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2842 of whether it has any unread articles.
2844 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2845 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2847 @item broken-reply-to
2848 @cindex broken-reply-to
2849 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2850 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2851 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2852 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2853 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2854 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2858 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2859 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2863 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2864 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2865 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2870 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2871 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2872 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2873 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2874 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2875 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2876 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2878 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2879 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2880 doesn't accept articles.
2884 @cindex expiring mail
2885 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2886 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2887 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2889 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2892 @cindex total-expire
2893 @cindex expiring mail
2894 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2895 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2896 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2897 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2900 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2904 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2905 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2906 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2907 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2908 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2909 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2910 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2913 @cindex expiry-target
2914 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2915 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2918 @cindex score file group parameter
2919 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2920 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2921 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2924 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2925 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2926 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2927 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2930 @cindex admin-address
2931 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2932 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2933 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2934 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2938 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2939 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2943 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2946 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2947 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2950 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2954 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2956 Here are some examples:
2960 Display only unread articles.
2963 Display everything except expirable articles.
2965 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2966 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2970 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2971 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2972 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2973 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2974 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2978 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2979 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2980 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2984 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2985 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2986 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2990 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2991 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2992 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2994 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2996 @item ignored-charsets
2997 @cindex ignored-charset
2998 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2999 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3000 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3002 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3005 @cindex posting-style
3006 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3007 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3008 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3009 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3010 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3012 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3013 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3014 like this in the group parameters:
3019 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3020 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3023 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3024 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3025 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3026 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3027 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3028 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3034 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3035 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3039 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3040 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3041 mail source for this group.
3045 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3046 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3047 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3048 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3049 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3053 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3054 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3055 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3056 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3058 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3059 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3060 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3061 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3064 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3065 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3069 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3070 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3071 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3072 like the following is generated:
3075 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3076 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3080 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3081 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3083 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3084 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3086 @item (agent parameters)
3087 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3088 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3089 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3090 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3091 minimize the configuration effort.
3093 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3094 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3095 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3096 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3097 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3098 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3099 @code{eval}ed there.
3101 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3102 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3103 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3104 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3105 form needs to be set to it.
3107 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3108 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3109 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3110 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3111 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3112 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3113 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3116 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3119 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3120 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3121 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3124 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3127 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3128 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3129 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3130 into the group parameters for the group.
3132 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3133 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3134 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3135 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3136 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3138 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3139 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3140 following is added to a group parameter
3143 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3144 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3147 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3152 @vindex gnus-parameters
3153 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3154 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3155 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3159 (setq gnus-parameters
3161 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3162 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3163 (gnus-summary-line-format
3164 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3168 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3172 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3176 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3179 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3180 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3182 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3183 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3184 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3185 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3186 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3187 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3188 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3189 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3190 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3191 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3192 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3193 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3195 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3196 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3197 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3198 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3199 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3200 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3201 weekly news RSS feed
3202 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3208 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3209 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3210 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3211 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3212 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3214 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3215 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3216 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3217 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3218 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3219 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3223 @node Listing Groups
3224 @section Listing Groups
3225 @cindex group listing
3227 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3235 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3236 List all groups that have unread articles
3237 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3238 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3239 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3240 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3247 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3248 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3249 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3250 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3251 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3252 unsubscribed groups).
3256 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3257 List all unread groups on a specific level
3258 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3259 with no unread articles.
3263 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3264 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3265 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3266 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3271 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3272 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3276 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3277 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3278 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3282 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3283 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3287 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3288 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3289 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3290 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3291 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3292 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3293 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3294 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3298 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3299 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3300 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3304 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3305 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3306 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3310 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3311 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3315 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3316 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3320 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3321 List groups limited within the current selection
3322 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3326 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3327 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3331 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3332 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3336 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3337 @cindex visible group parameter
3338 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3339 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3340 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3341 get the same effect.
3343 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3344 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3345 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3346 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3347 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3350 @node Sorting Groups
3351 @section Sorting Groups
3352 @cindex sorting groups
3354 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3355 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3356 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3357 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3358 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3359 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3364 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3365 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3366 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3368 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3369 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3370 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3372 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3373 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3374 Sort by group level.
3376 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3377 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3378 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3380 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3381 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3382 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3383 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3385 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3386 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3387 Sort by number of unread articles.
3389 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3390 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3391 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3393 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3394 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3395 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3400 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3401 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3405 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3406 some sorting criteria:
3410 @kindex G S a (Group)
3411 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3412 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3413 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3416 @kindex G S u (Group)
3417 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3418 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3419 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3422 @kindex G S l (Group)
3423 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3424 Sort the group buffer by group level
3425 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3428 @kindex G S v (Group)
3429 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3430 Sort the group buffer by group score
3431 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3434 @kindex G S r (Group)
3435 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3436 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3437 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3440 @kindex G S m (Group)
3441 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3442 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3443 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3446 @kindex G S n (Group)
3447 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3448 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3449 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3453 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3454 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3456 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3457 commands will sort in reverse order.
3459 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3463 @kindex G P a (Group)
3464 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3465 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3466 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3469 @kindex G P u (Group)
3470 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3471 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3472 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3475 @kindex G P l (Group)
3476 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3477 Sort the groups by group level
3478 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3481 @kindex G P v (Group)
3482 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3483 Sort the groups by group score
3484 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3487 @kindex G P r (Group)
3488 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3489 Sort the groups by group rank
3490 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3493 @kindex G P m (Group)
3494 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3495 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3496 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3499 @kindex G P n (Group)
3500 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3501 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3502 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3505 @kindex G P s (Group)
3506 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3507 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3511 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3515 @node Group Maintenance
3516 @section Group Maintenance
3517 @cindex bogus groups
3522 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3523 Find bogus groups and delete them
3524 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3528 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3529 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3530 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3531 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3532 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3536 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3537 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3538 @cindex expiring mail
3539 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3540 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3541 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3542 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3545 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3546 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3547 @cindex expiring mail
3548 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3549 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3554 @node Browse Foreign Server
3555 @section Browse Foreign Server
3556 @cindex foreign servers
3557 @cindex browsing servers
3562 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3563 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3564 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3565 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3568 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3569 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3570 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3571 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3573 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3578 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3579 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3583 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3584 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3587 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3588 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3589 Enter the current group and display the first article
3590 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3593 @kindex RET (Browse)
3594 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3595 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3599 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3600 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3601 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3602 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3603 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3604 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3605 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3611 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3612 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3616 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3617 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3621 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3622 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3623 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3628 @section Exiting Gnus
3629 @cindex exiting Gnus
3631 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3636 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3637 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3638 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3639 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3643 @findex gnus-group-exit
3644 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3645 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3649 @findex gnus-group-quit
3650 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3651 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3654 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3655 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3656 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3657 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3658 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3659 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3665 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3666 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3667 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3673 @section Group Topics
3676 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3677 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3678 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3679 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3680 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3681 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3685 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3686 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3697 2: alt.religion.emacs
3700 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3702 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3703 13: comp.sources.unix
3706 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3708 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3709 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3710 is a toggling command.)
3712 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3713 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3714 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3715 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3718 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3719 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3720 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3723 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3727 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3728 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3729 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3730 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3731 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3735 @node Topic Commands
3736 @subsection Topic Commands
3737 @cindex topic commands
3739 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3740 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3741 definitions slightly.
3743 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3744 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3745 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3746 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3747 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3748 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3750 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3757 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3758 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3759 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3763 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3765 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3766 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3767 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3768 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3771 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3772 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3773 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3774 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3778 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3779 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3780 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3781 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3787 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3788 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3789 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3793 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3794 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3795 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3798 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3799 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3800 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3801 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3802 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3804 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3805 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3809 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3810 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3817 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3819 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3820 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3821 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3822 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3823 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3824 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3828 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3834 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3835 Move the current group to some other topic
3836 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3837 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3841 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3842 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3846 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3847 Copy the current group to some other topic
3848 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3849 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3853 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3854 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3855 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3859 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3860 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3861 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3865 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3866 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3867 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3868 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3869 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3870 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3871 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3874 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3875 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3879 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3880 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3881 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3885 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3886 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3887 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3891 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3892 Toggle hiding empty topics
3893 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3897 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3898 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3899 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3900 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3903 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3904 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3905 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3906 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3907 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3910 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3911 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3912 @cindex expiring mail
3913 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3914 expiry process (if any)
3915 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3919 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3920 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3923 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3924 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3925 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3929 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3930 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3931 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3934 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3935 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3936 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3939 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3940 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3941 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3945 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3946 @cindex group parameters
3947 @cindex topic parameters
3949 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3950 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3955 @node Topic Variables
3956 @subsection Topic Variables
3957 @cindex topic variables
3959 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3960 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3962 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3963 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3964 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3977 Number of groups in the topic.
3979 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3981 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3984 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3985 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3986 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3989 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3990 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3992 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3993 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3994 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3998 @subsection Topic Sorting
3999 @cindex topic sorting
4001 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4007 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4008 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4009 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4010 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4013 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4014 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4015 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4016 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4019 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4020 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4021 Sort the current topic by group level
4022 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4025 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4026 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4027 Sort the current topic by group score
4028 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4031 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4032 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4033 Sort the current topic by group rank
4034 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4037 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4038 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4039 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4040 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4043 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4044 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4045 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4046 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4049 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4050 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4051 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4052 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4053 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4057 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4058 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4062 @node Topic Topology
4063 @subsection Topic Topology
4064 @cindex topic topology
4067 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4074 2: alt.religion.emacs
4077 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4079 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4080 13: comp.sources.unix
4084 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4085 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4086 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4091 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4092 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4096 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4097 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4098 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4099 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4100 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4101 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4103 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4104 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4105 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4108 @node Topic Parameters
4109 @subsection Topic Parameters
4110 @cindex topic parameters
4112 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4113 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4114 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4115 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4116 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4118 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4123 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4124 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4125 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4128 @item subscribe-level
4129 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4130 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4131 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4135 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4136 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4137 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4138 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4145 2: alt.religion.emacs
4149 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4151 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4152 13: comp.sources.unix
4157 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4158 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4159 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4160 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4161 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4162 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4164 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4165 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4166 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4167 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4168 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4170 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4171 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4172 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4173 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4174 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4175 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4176 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4177 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4180 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4181 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4182 @cindex non-ascii group names
4184 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4185 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4186 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4187 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4188 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4189 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4190 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4193 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4194 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4195 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4196 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4197 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4198 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4199 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4200 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4203 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4204 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4205 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4206 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4207 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4210 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4211 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4214 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4215 ones specified for the same groups with the
4216 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4218 A select method can be very long, like:
4222 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4223 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4224 (nntp-open-connection-function
4225 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4226 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4227 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4228 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4229 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4232 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4233 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4236 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4237 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4238 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4239 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4240 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4241 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4244 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4245 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4249 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4250 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4253 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4254 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4255 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4256 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4257 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4258 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4260 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4264 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4265 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4266 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4267 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4268 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4269 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4271 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4272 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4273 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4274 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4275 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4276 names and directory names.
4278 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4279 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4280 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4281 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4282 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4283 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4285 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4286 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4287 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4288 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4290 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4291 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4292 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4293 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4295 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4296 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4297 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4298 typical case where you have to customize
4299 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4300 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4301 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4302 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4305 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4306 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4307 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4308 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4315 * nnir:: Searching on IMAP, with swish, namazu, etc.
4316 * nnmairix:: Searching maildir, MH or mbox with Mairix.
4321 FIXME: This node is a stub.
4323 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
4324 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
4327 FIXME: Explain difference to @ref{Searching for Articles}, add reference
4333 FIXME: As a first step, convert the commentary of @file{nnir} to texi.
4337 @subsection nnmairix
4341 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
4342 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
4343 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
4344 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
4347 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
4348 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
4349 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
4350 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
4351 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
4352 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
4353 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
4354 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
4355 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
4358 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
4359 @c E.g. adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
4360 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
4363 @subsubsection About mairix
4365 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
4366 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
4367 GPL. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
4368 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
4370 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
4372 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
4373 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
4374 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
4375 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
4376 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
4377 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
4378 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
4379 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
4382 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
4383 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
4384 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
4385 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
4386 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
4387 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
4388 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
4389 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
4392 @node nnmairix requirements
4393 @subsubsection nnmairix requirements
4395 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
4396 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
4397 server (e.g. an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
4398 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g. via ssh.
4400 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
4401 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
4402 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
4403 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
4405 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
4406 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
4407 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
4408 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
4409 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
4410 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
4412 @node What nnmairix does
4413 @subsubsection What nnmairix does
4415 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
4416 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
4417 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
4418 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g. to quickly
4419 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
4420 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
4421 mails are in different folders.
4423 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
4424 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
4425 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
4426 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID. If you check for
4427 new mail in these folders (e.g. by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
4428 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
4430 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
4431 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
4432 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
4433 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
4434 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
4435 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
4436 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
4437 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g. if you
4438 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
4439 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
4440 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
4442 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
4443 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
4444 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
4445 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
4446 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
4447 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
4448 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
4449 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
4450 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
4451 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
4452 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create e.g. a new
4453 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
4454 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
4455 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
4456 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
4457 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
4459 @node Setting up mairix
4460 @subsubsection Setting up mairix
4462 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
4464 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
4465 (at least) the following entries:
4468 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
4472 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
4473 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
4474 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
4475 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
4478 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
4479 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
4480 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
4483 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
4484 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
4485 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
4486 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
4487 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
4493 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
4494 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
4495 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
4496 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
4499 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
4500 database= ... location of database file ...
4503 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
4504 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
4505 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
4507 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
4511 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
4512 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
4513 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
4516 database=~/.mairixdatabase
4519 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
4520 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
4521 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
4522 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
4523 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
4524 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
4525 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
4526 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
4527 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
4528 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
4529 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
4530 The other lines should be obvious.
4532 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
4533 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
4534 than you are used to.
4536 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
4537 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
4538 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
4540 @node Configuring nnmairix
4541 @subsubsection Configuring nnmairix
4543 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
4544 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
4545 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
4546 server. You will have to specify the following:
4551 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
4555 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
4556 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
4557 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
4558 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
4559 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
4560 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
4561 However, you can also create e.g. a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
4562 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
4563 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
4564 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
4565 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might loose mail
4566 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
4567 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
4568 @code{nnimap} server here.
4571 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
4572 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
4573 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
4574 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g. on your
4575 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
4576 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
4577 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
4580 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
4581 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e. all searches which
4582 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
4586 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
4587 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e. with hidden maildir
4588 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
4589 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
4590 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
4594 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
4595 @subsubsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
4602 @kindex G b c (Group)
4603 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
4604 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
4605 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
4606 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
4609 @kindex G b s (Group)
4610 @findex nnmairix-search
4611 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
4612 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
4613 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
4616 @kindex G b m (Group)
4617 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
4618 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
4619 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
4620 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
4623 @kindex G b i (Group)
4624 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
4625 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
4626 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
4629 @kindex G b g (Group)
4630 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
4631 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
4632 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
4633 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
4637 @kindex G b q (Group)
4638 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
4639 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
4640 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
4643 @kindex G b t (Group)
4644 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
4645 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
4646 i.e. if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
4647 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
4650 @kindex G b u (Group)
4651 @findex nnmairix-update-database
4652 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
4653 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
4654 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
4655 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
4656 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
4660 @kindex G b r (Group)
4661 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
4662 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
4663 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
4666 @kindex G b d (Group)
4667 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
4668 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
4669 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
4670 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
4673 @kindex G b a (Group)
4674 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
4675 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
4676 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
4677 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
4678 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
4679 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
4680 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
4681 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
4682 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
4685 @kindex G b p (Group)
4686 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
4687 Toggle marks propagation for this group
4688 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
4692 @kindex G b o (Group)
4693 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
4694 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
4695 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
4704 @kindex $ m (Summary)
4705 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
4706 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
4707 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
4708 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
4711 @kindex $ g (Summary)
4712 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
4713 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
4714 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
4715 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
4718 @kindex $ t (Summary)
4719 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
4720 Searches thread for the current article
4721 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
4722 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
4723 current article and enabled threads.
4726 @kindex $ f (Summary)
4727 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
4728 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
4729 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
4730 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
4733 @kindex $ o (Summary)
4734 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
4735 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
4736 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that
4737 e.g. replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
4738 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
4739 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
4740 article file name as a fallback method.
4743 @kindex $ u (Summary)
4744 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
4745 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
4746 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
4751 @node Propagating marks
4752 @subsubsection Propagating marks
4754 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
4755 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
4756 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
4758 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
4760 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
4761 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
4762 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
4763 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
4766 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
4767 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
4768 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
4769 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
4770 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
4771 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
4772 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
4773 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
4774 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
4775 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
4777 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
4778 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
4779 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
4780 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
4781 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
4782 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
4783 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
4785 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
4786 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
4787 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
4788 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
4789 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
4790 even more cumbersome.
4792 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
4793 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
4794 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
4796 Marks propagation is deactivated by default. You can activate it for a
4797 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
4798 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
4799 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
4800 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
4801 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
4802 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
4804 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
4805 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
4806 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
4807 magically be set for the original article, too.
4809 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
4811 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
4812 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
4813 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
4814 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
4815 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
4816 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
4819 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
4820 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
4821 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
4822 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
4823 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
4824 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
4825 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
4827 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
4828 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
4829 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
4830 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
4831 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
4832 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
4833 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
4835 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e. if you
4836 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
4837 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
4838 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
4839 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
4840 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
4841 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
4842 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
4843 maildir as its file format.
4845 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
4846 If you work with this setup, just set
4847 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
4848 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
4849 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
4850 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
4851 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
4852 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
4854 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
4855 @subsubsection nnmairix tips and tricks
4861 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
4862 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
4863 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
4866 I use the following to check for mails:
4869 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
4871 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
4872 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
4873 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
4874 (gnus-group-list-groups))
4876 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
4879 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
4880 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
4884 Example: search group for ticked articles
4886 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
4887 articles always stay unread:
4889 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g. @samp{important}), use
4890 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
4892 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
4893 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
4895 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
4896 group? There are two options: You may simply use
4897 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
4898 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
4899 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
4900 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
4901 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
4902 e.g. by marking an article as read.
4904 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
4905 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
4906 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
4907 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
4908 snippet and the doc string for details.
4911 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
4913 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
4914 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
4915 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
4916 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
4917 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
4918 @code{nnml}, i.e. you will suddenly see groups of the form
4919 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
4920 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
4921 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
4922 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
4923 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
4924 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
4927 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
4928 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
4933 @node nnmairix caveats
4934 @subsubsection nnmairix caveats
4938 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
4939 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
4940 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
4941 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
4942 an example server definition:
4945 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
4948 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variabe
4949 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
4950 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
4954 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
4955 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
4956 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}). Be @emph{extra careful} if
4957 you use @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are
4958 split into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as
4959 you check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
4962 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
4963 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
4966 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
4967 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
4970 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
4973 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
4974 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
4975 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
4976 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
4977 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
4978 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
4982 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
4983 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
4984 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
4985 it is gone for good.
4988 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
4989 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
4990 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
4991 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
4992 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
4993 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
4994 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
4995 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
4996 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
4999 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
5000 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
5002 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
5003 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
5004 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
5005 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
5006 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
5007 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
5008 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
5009 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
5010 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
5011 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
5012 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
5013 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
5017 @node Misc Group Stuff
5018 @section Misc Group Stuff
5021 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
5022 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
5023 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
5024 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
5025 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
5032 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
5033 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
5034 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
5037 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
5040 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
5043 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
5044 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
5048 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
5049 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
5050 @xref{Server Buffer}.
5054 @findex gnus-group-post-news
5055 Start composing a message (a news by default)
5056 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
5057 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5058 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
5059 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
5060 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
5064 @findex gnus-group-mail
5065 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
5066 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
5067 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5068 @xref{Composing Messages}.
5072 @findex gnus-group-news
5073 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
5074 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
5075 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
5077 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5078 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5079 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5080 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5081 for this to work though.
5085 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
5087 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
5088 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
5089 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
5094 Variables for the group buffer:
5098 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
5099 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
5100 is called after the group buffer has been
5103 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
5104 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
5105 is called after the group buffer is
5106 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
5109 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
5110 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
5111 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
5112 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
5114 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
5115 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
5116 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
5117 whether they are empty or not.
5121 @node Scanning New Messages
5122 @subsection Scanning New Messages
5123 @cindex new messages
5124 @cindex scanning new news
5130 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
5131 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
5132 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
5133 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
5134 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
5135 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
5140 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
5141 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
5142 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
5143 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
5144 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
5145 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
5146 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
5148 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
5149 @cindex activating groups
5151 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
5152 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
5157 @findex gnus-group-restart
5158 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
5159 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
5160 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
5164 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
5165 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
5167 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
5168 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
5172 @node Group Information
5173 @subsection Group Information
5174 @cindex group information
5175 @cindex information on groups
5182 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
5183 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
5186 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
5187 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
5188 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
5189 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
5190 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
5191 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
5192 used for fetching the file.
5194 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
5195 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
5199 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
5200 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
5201 @cindex control message
5202 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
5203 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
5204 group if given a prefix argument.
5206 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
5207 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
5208 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
5209 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
5211 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
5212 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
5213 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
5217 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
5219 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
5220 @cindex describing groups
5221 @cindex group description
5222 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
5223 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
5224 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
5228 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
5229 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
5230 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
5237 @findex gnus-version
5238 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
5242 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
5243 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
5246 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
5249 @findex gnus-info-find-node
5250 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
5254 @node Group Timestamp
5255 @subsection Group Timestamp
5257 @cindex group timestamps
5259 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
5260 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
5261 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
5264 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
5267 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
5269 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
5270 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
5273 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5274 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
5277 This will result in lines looking like:
5280 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
5281 0: custom 19961002T012713
5284 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
5285 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
5289 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5290 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
5293 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
5294 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
5298 (setq gnus-group-line-format
5299 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
5300 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
5301 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
5303 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
5309 @subsection File Commands
5310 @cindex file commands
5316 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
5317 @vindex gnus-init-file
5318 @cindex reading init file
5319 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
5320 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
5324 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
5325 @cindex saving .newsrc
5326 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
5327 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
5328 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
5331 @c @kindex Z (Group)
5332 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
5333 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
5338 @node Sieve Commands
5339 @subsection Sieve Commands
5340 @cindex group sieve commands
5342 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
5343 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
5344 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
5345 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
5346 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
5348 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5349 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
5350 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
5351 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
5352 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
5353 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
5354 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
5355 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
5356 regenerate the Sieve script.
5358 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
5359 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
5360 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
5361 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
5362 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
5363 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
5364 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
5365 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
5366 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
5367 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
5370 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
5371 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
5376 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
5382 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
5383 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5384 @cindex generating sieve script
5385 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
5386 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
5390 @findex gnus-sieve-update
5391 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
5392 @cindex updating sieve script
5393 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
5394 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
5395 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
5400 @node Summary Buffer
5401 @chapter Summary Buffer
5402 @cindex summary buffer
5404 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
5405 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
5407 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
5408 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
5410 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
5412 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
5413 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
5417 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
5418 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
5419 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
5421 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
5425 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
5426 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
5427 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
5428 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
5429 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
5430 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
5431 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
5432 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
5433 * Threading:: How threads are made.
5434 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
5435 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
5436 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
5437 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
5438 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
5439 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
5440 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
5441 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
5442 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
5443 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
5444 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
5445 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
5446 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
5447 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
5448 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
5449 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
5450 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
5451 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
5452 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
5453 or reselecting the current group.
5454 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
5455 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
5456 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
5457 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
5461 @node Summary Buffer Format
5462 @section Summary Buffer Format
5463 @cindex summary buffer format
5467 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
5468 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
5469 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
5475 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
5476 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
5477 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
5478 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
5481 @findex mail-extract-address-components
5482 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
5483 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
5484 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
5485 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
5486 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
5487 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
5488 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
5489 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
5490 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
5491 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
5494 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
5495 'mail-extract-address-components)
5498 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
5499 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
5500 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
5501 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
5504 @node Summary Buffer Lines
5505 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
5507 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5508 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
5509 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
5510 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
5511 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
5513 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
5514 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
5515 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
5516 possible to change this. Just write a new function
5517 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
5518 @xref{Positioning Point}.
5520 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
5522 The following format specification characters and extended format
5523 specification(s) are understood:
5529 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
5530 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
5532 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
5533 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
5534 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
5536 Full @code{From} header.
5538 The name (from the @code{From} header).
5540 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
5543 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
5544 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
5545 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
5546 may be more thorough.
5548 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
5551 Number of lines in the article.
5553 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
5554 in some methods (like nnfolder).
5556 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
5557 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
5559 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
5561 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
5562 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
5575 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
5576 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
5577 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
5578 line-drawing glyphs.
5580 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
5581 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
5582 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
5583 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
5585 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
5586 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
5587 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
5588 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
5590 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
5591 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
5592 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
5593 instead. The default is @samp{}.
5595 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
5596 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
5597 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
5599 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
5600 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
5601 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
5603 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
5604 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
5605 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
5607 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
5608 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
5609 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
5614 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
5615 pushes everything after it off the screen).
5617 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
5618 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
5620 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
5621 for adopted articles.
5623 One space for each thread level.
5625 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
5627 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
5630 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
5631 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
5632 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
5635 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
5637 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
5638 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
5639 default level. If the difference between
5640 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
5641 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
5649 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
5651 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
5657 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
5658 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
5660 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
5661 article has any children.
5667 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
5669 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
5670 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
5672 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
5673 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
5674 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
5675 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
5676 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
5677 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
5680 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
5681 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
5682 There can only be one such area.
5684 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
5685 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
5686 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
5687 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
5688 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
5689 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
5691 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
5692 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
5694 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
5697 @node To From Newsgroups
5698 @subsection To From Newsgroups
5702 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
5703 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
5704 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
5705 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
5706 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
5710 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
5711 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
5712 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5716 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5717 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5720 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5721 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5724 @findex gnus-extra-header
5725 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5726 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5727 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5730 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5734 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5735 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5736 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5737 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5738 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5739 headers are used instead.
5741 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5742 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5743 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5744 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5745 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5746 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5750 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5751 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5752 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5753 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5754 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5755 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5758 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5759 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5760 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5761 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5763 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5767 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5769 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5770 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5771 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5772 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5776 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5779 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5780 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5783 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5784 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5785 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5791 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5792 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5795 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5796 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5798 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5799 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5800 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5801 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5803 Here are the elements you can play with:
5809 Unprefixed group name.
5811 Current article number.
5813 Current article score.
5817 Number of unread articles in this group.
5819 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5822 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5823 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5824 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5825 and no unselected ones.
5827 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5828 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5830 Subject of the current article.
5832 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5834 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5836 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5838 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5840 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5842 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5846 @node Summary Highlighting
5847 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5851 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5852 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5853 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5854 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5855 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5857 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5858 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5859 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5860 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5862 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5863 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5864 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5865 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5867 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5868 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5869 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5870 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5871 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5872 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5875 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5876 ((> score default) . bold))
5878 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5879 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5883 @node Summary Maneuvering
5884 @section Summary Maneuvering
5885 @cindex summary movement
5887 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5888 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5890 None of these commands select articles.
5895 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5896 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5897 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5898 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5899 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5903 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5904 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5905 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5906 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5907 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5910 @kindex G g (Summary)
5911 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5912 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5913 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5916 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5917 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5918 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5919 to the group buffer.
5921 Variables related to summary movement:
5925 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5926 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5927 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5928 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5929 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5930 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5931 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5932 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5933 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5934 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5935 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5936 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5937 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5938 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5940 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5941 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5942 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5943 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5944 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5945 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5946 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5948 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5950 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5951 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5952 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5953 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5954 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5956 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5957 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5958 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5959 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5960 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5961 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5962 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5963 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5966 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5967 the given number of lines from the top.
5969 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5970 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5971 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5972 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5977 @node Choosing Articles
5978 @section Choosing Articles
5979 @cindex selecting articles
5982 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5983 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5987 @node Choosing Commands
5988 @subsection Choosing Commands
5990 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5991 and they all select and display an article.
5993 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5994 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5998 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
6000 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
6001 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
6003 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
6004 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
6005 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
6010 @kindex G n (Summary)
6011 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
6012 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
6013 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
6018 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
6019 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
6020 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
6025 @kindex G N (Summary)
6026 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
6027 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
6032 @kindex G P (Summary)
6033 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
6034 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
6037 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
6038 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
6039 Go to the next article with the same subject
6040 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
6043 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
6044 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
6045 Go to the previous article with the same subject
6046 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
6050 @kindex G f (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
6053 Go to the first unread article
6054 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
6058 @kindex G b (Summary)
6060 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
6061 Go to the unread article with the highest score
6062 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
6063 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
6068 @kindex G l (Summary)
6069 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
6070 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
6073 @kindex G o (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
6076 @cindex article history
6077 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
6078 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
6079 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
6080 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
6081 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
6082 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
6087 @kindex G j (Summary)
6088 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
6089 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
6090 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
6095 @node Choosing Variables
6096 @subsection Choosing Variables
6098 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
6101 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
6102 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
6103 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
6104 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
6105 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
6106 the server and display it in the article buffer.
6108 @item gnus-select-article-hook
6109 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
6110 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
6111 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
6112 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
6115 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
6116 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
6117 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
6118 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
6119 @findex gnus-unread-mark
6120 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
6121 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
6122 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
6123 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
6124 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
6125 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
6126 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
6127 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
6128 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
6133 @node Paging the Article
6134 @section Scrolling the Article
6135 @cindex article scrolling
6140 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
6142 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
6143 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
6144 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
6146 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
6147 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
6148 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
6149 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
6150 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
6151 what is considered uninteresting with
6152 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
6153 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
6156 @kindex DEL (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
6158 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
6161 @kindex RET (Summary)
6162 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
6163 Scroll the current article one line forward
6164 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
6167 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
6168 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
6169 Scroll the current article one line backward
6170 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
6174 @kindex A g (Summary)
6176 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
6177 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
6178 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
6179 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
6180 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
6181 the way it came from the server.
6183 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
6184 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
6185 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
6186 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
6189 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
6194 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
6199 @kindex A < (Summary)
6200 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
6201 Scroll to the beginning of the article
6202 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
6207 @kindex A > (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
6209 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
6213 @kindex A s (Summary)
6215 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
6216 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
6217 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
6221 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
6222 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
6227 @node Reply Followup and Post
6228 @section Reply, Followup and Post
6231 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
6232 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
6233 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
6234 * Canceling and Superseding::
6238 @node Summary Mail Commands
6239 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
6241 @cindex composing mail
6243 Commands for composing a mail message:
6249 @kindex S r (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-reply
6252 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
6253 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
6254 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
6255 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
6260 @kindex S R (Summary)
6261 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
6262 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
6263 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
6264 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
6265 command uses the process/prefix convention.
6268 @kindex S w (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
6270 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
6271 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
6272 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
6273 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
6274 present, that's used instead.
6277 @kindex S W (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
6279 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
6280 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
6281 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
6282 first article to determine the recipients.
6285 @kindex S v (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
6287 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
6288 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
6289 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
6290 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
6291 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
6294 @kindex S V (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
6296 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
6297 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
6298 command uses the process/prefix convention.
6301 @kindex S B r (Summary)
6302 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
6303 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
6304 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
6305 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
6306 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
6307 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
6308 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
6311 @kindex S B R (Summary)
6312 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
6313 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
6314 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
6315 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
6319 @kindex S o m (Summary)
6320 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
6322 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
6323 Forward the current article to some other person
6324 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
6325 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
6326 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
6327 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
6328 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
6329 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
6330 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
6331 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
6332 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
6338 @kindex S m (Summary)
6339 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
6340 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
6341 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
6342 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
6343 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
6346 @kindex S i (Summary)
6347 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
6348 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
6349 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
6350 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
6352 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
6353 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
6354 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
6355 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
6356 for this to work though.
6359 @kindex S D b (Summary)
6360 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
6361 @cindex bouncing mail
6362 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
6363 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
6364 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
6365 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
6366 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
6367 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
6368 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
6369 very well fail, though.
6372 @kindex S D r (Summary)
6373 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
6374 Not to be confused with the previous command,
6375 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
6376 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
6377 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
6378 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
6379 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
6380 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
6381 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
6383 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
6384 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
6385 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
6386 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
6387 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
6389 This command understands the process/prefix convention
6390 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6393 @kindex S D e (Summary)
6394 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
6396 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
6397 if it were a new message before resending.
6400 @kindex S O m (Summary)
6401 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
6402 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
6403 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
6404 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6407 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
6409 @cindex crossposting
6410 @cindex excessive crossposting
6411 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
6412 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
6414 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
6415 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
6416 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
6417 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
6418 command understands the process/prefix convention
6419 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
6423 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
6424 Manual}, for more information.
6427 @node Summary Post Commands
6428 @subsection Summary Post Commands
6430 @cindex composing news
6432 Commands for posting a news article:
6438 @kindex S p (Summary)
6439 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
6440 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
6441 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
6442 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
6443 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
6448 @kindex S f (Summary)
6449 @findex gnus-summary-followup
6450 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
6451 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
6455 @kindex S F (Summary)
6457 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
6458 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
6459 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
6460 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
6461 process/prefix convention.
6464 @kindex S n (Summary)
6465 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
6466 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
6467 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
6470 @kindex S N (Summary)
6471 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
6472 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
6473 message through mail and include the original message
6474 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
6475 the process/prefix convention.
6478 @kindex S o p (Summary)
6479 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
6480 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
6481 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
6482 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
6483 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
6484 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
6485 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
6486 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
6487 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
6488 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
6489 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
6490 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
6493 @kindex S O p (Summary)
6494 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
6496 @cindex making digests
6497 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
6498 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
6499 process/prefix convention.
6502 @kindex S u (Summary)
6503 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
6504 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
6505 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
6506 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
6509 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
6510 Manual}, for more information.
6513 @node Summary Message Commands
6514 @subsection Summary Message Commands
6518 @kindex S y (Summary)
6519 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
6520 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
6521 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
6522 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
6523 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6528 @node Canceling and Superseding
6529 @subsection Canceling Articles
6530 @cindex canceling articles
6531 @cindex superseding articles
6533 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
6534 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
6536 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
6538 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
6540 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
6541 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
6542 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
6543 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
6544 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
6545 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6547 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
6548 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
6551 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
6552 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
6553 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
6555 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
6556 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
6557 message, Message Manual}).
6559 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
6560 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
6561 your original article.
6563 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
6565 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
6566 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
6567 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
6570 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
6571 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
6572 have posted almost the same article twice.
6574 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
6575 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
6576 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
6577 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
6578 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
6579 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
6580 header by substituting one of those words for the word
6581 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
6582 you would do normally. The previous article will be
6583 canceled/superseded.
6585 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
6587 @node Delayed Articles
6588 @section Delayed Articles
6589 @cindex delayed sending
6590 @cindex send delayed
6592 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
6593 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
6594 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
6595 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
6598 (gnus-delay-initialize)
6601 @findex gnus-delay-article
6602 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
6603 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
6604 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
6605 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
6609 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
6610 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
6611 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
6612 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
6615 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
6616 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
6617 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
6620 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
6621 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
6622 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
6623 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
6624 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
6625 that means a time tomorrow.
6628 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
6629 couple of variables:
6632 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
6633 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
6634 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
6635 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
6637 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
6638 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
6639 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
6640 formats described above.
6642 @item gnus-delay-group
6643 @vindex gnus-delay-group
6644 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
6645 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
6646 value is @code{"delayed"}.
6648 @item gnus-delay-header
6649 @vindex gnus-delay-header
6650 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
6651 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
6652 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
6655 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
6656 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
6657 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
6658 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
6659 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
6661 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
6662 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
6663 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
6664 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
6665 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
6666 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
6667 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
6670 @item gnus-delay-initialize
6671 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
6672 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
6673 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
6674 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
6675 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
6676 argument is ignored.
6678 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
6679 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
6680 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
6683 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
6684 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
6685 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
6686 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
6687 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
6690 @node Marking Articles
6691 @section Marking Articles
6692 @cindex article marking
6693 @cindex article ticking
6696 There are several marks you can set on an article.
6698 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
6699 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
6700 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
6702 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
6705 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6709 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6710 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6711 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6712 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6713 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6714 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6718 @node Unread Articles
6719 @subsection Unread Articles
6721 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6726 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6727 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6729 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6730 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6731 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6732 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6733 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6734 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6735 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6738 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6739 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6741 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6742 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6743 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6744 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6748 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6749 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6751 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6756 @subsection Read Articles
6757 @cindex expirable mark
6759 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6764 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6765 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6766 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6769 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6770 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6773 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6774 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6775 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6778 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6779 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6782 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6783 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6786 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6787 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6790 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6791 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6794 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6795 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6798 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6799 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6803 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6804 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6805 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6809 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6810 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6812 One more special mark, though:
6816 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6817 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6819 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6820 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6821 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6822 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6828 @subsection Other Marks
6829 @cindex process mark
6832 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6838 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6839 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6840 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6841 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6842 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6845 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6846 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6847 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6848 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6851 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6852 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6853 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6856 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6857 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6858 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6861 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6862 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6863 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6864 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6867 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6868 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6869 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6870 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6871 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6872 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6875 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6876 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6877 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6878 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6881 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6882 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6883 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6884 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6885 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6889 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6890 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6891 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6892 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6893 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6894 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6897 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6898 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6899 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6900 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6901 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6902 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6906 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6907 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6908 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6909 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6910 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6913 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6914 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6915 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6916 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6917 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6918 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6922 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6923 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6924 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6926 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6927 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6928 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6932 @subsection Setting Marks
6933 @cindex setting marks
6935 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6940 @kindex M c (Summary)
6941 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6942 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6943 @cindex mark as unread
6944 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6945 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6951 @kindex M t (Summary)
6952 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6953 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6954 @xref{Article Caching}.
6959 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6960 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6961 Mark the current article as dormant
6962 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6966 @kindex M d (Summary)
6968 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6969 Mark the current article as read
6970 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6974 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6975 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6976 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6981 @kindex M k (Summary)
6982 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6983 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6984 and then select the next unread article
6985 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6989 @kindex M K (Summary)
6990 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6991 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6992 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6993 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6996 @kindex M C (Summary)
6997 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6998 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6999 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
7002 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
7003 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
7004 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
7005 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
7008 @kindex M H (Summary)
7009 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
7010 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
7011 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
7014 @kindex M h (Summary)
7015 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
7016 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
7017 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
7020 @kindex C-w (Summary)
7021 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
7022 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
7023 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
7026 @kindex M V k (Summary)
7027 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
7028 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
7029 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
7033 @kindex M e (Summary)
7035 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
7036 Mark the current article as expirable
7037 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
7040 @kindex M b (Summary)
7041 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
7042 Set a bookmark in the current article
7043 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
7046 @kindex M B (Summary)
7047 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
7048 Remove the bookmark from the current article
7049 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
7052 @kindex M V c (Summary)
7053 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
7054 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
7055 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
7058 @kindex M V u (Summary)
7059 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
7060 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
7061 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
7064 @kindex M V m (Summary)
7065 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
7066 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
7067 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
7068 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
7071 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
7072 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
7073 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
7074 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
7075 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
7076 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
7077 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
7078 The default is @code{t}.
7081 @node Generic Marking Commands
7082 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
7084 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
7085 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
7086 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
7087 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
7088 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
7091 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
7092 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
7095 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
7096 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
7097 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
7098 to list in this manual.
7100 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
7101 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
7102 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
7103 article, you could say something like:
7107 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
7108 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
7109 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
7117 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
7118 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
7122 @node Setting Process Marks
7123 @subsection Setting Process Marks
7124 @cindex setting process marks
7126 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
7127 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
7128 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
7129 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
7130 articles into the cache. For more information,
7131 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
7138 @kindex M P p (Summary)
7139 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
7140 Mark the current article with the process mark
7141 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
7142 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
7146 @kindex M P u (Summary)
7147 @kindex M-# (Summary)
7148 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
7149 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
7152 @kindex M P U (Summary)
7153 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
7154 Remove the process mark from all articles
7155 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
7158 @kindex M P i (Summary)
7159 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
7160 Invert the list of process marked articles
7161 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
7164 @kindex M P R (Summary)
7165 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
7166 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
7167 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
7170 @kindex M P G (Summary)
7171 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
7172 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
7173 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
7176 @kindex M P r (Summary)
7177 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
7178 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
7181 @kindex M P g (Summary)
7182 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
7183 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
7186 @kindex M P t (Summary)
7187 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7188 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
7189 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7192 @kindex M P T (Summary)
7193 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7194 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
7195 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7198 @kindex M P v (Summary)
7199 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
7200 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
7201 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
7204 @kindex M P s (Summary)
7205 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
7206 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
7209 @kindex M P S (Summary)
7210 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
7211 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
7212 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
7215 @kindex M P a (Summary)
7216 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
7217 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
7220 @kindex M P b (Summary)
7221 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
7222 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
7223 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
7226 @kindex M P k (Summary)
7227 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
7228 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
7229 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
7232 @kindex M P y (Summary)
7233 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
7234 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
7235 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
7238 @kindex M P w (Summary)
7239 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
7240 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
7241 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
7245 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
7246 set process marks based on article body contents.
7253 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
7254 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
7255 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
7258 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
7259 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
7266 @kindex / / (Summary)
7267 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
7268 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
7269 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
7273 @kindex / a (Summary)
7274 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
7275 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
7276 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
7280 @kindex / R (Summary)
7281 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
7282 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
7283 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
7287 @kindex / A (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
7289 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
7290 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
7291 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
7294 @kindex / S (Summary)
7295 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
7296 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
7297 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
7298 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
7301 @kindex / x (Summary)
7302 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
7303 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
7304 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
7305 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
7310 @kindex / u (Summary)
7312 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
7313 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
7314 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
7315 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
7316 dormant articles will also be excluded.
7319 @kindex / m (Summary)
7320 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
7321 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
7322 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
7325 @kindex / t (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
7327 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
7328 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
7329 articles younger than that number of days.
7332 @kindex / n (Summary)
7333 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
7334 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
7335 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
7336 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
7339 @kindex / w (Summary)
7340 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
7341 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
7342 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
7346 @kindex / . (Summary)
7347 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
7348 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
7349 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
7352 @kindex / v (Summary)
7353 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
7354 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
7355 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
7358 @kindex / p (Summary)
7359 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
7360 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
7361 group parameter predicate
7362 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
7363 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
7366 @kindex / r (Summary)
7367 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
7368 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
7369 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
7374 @kindex M S (Summary)
7375 @kindex / E (Summary)
7376 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
7377 Include all expunged articles in the limit
7378 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
7381 @kindex / D (Summary)
7382 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
7383 Include all dormant articles in the limit
7384 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
7387 @kindex / * (Summary)
7388 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
7389 Include all cached articles in the limit
7390 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
7393 @kindex / d (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
7395 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
7396 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
7399 @kindex / M (Summary)
7400 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
7401 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
7404 @kindex / T (Summary)
7405 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
7406 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
7409 @kindex / c (Summary)
7410 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
7411 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
7412 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
7415 @kindex / C (Summary)
7416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
7417 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
7418 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
7419 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
7422 @kindex / b (Summary)
7423 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
7424 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
7425 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
7426 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
7427 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
7430 @kindex / h (Summary)
7431 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
7432 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
7433 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
7438 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
7443 @kindex / N (Summary)
7444 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
7445 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
7446 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
7449 @kindex / o (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
7451 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
7452 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
7460 @cindex article threading
7462 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
7463 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
7464 hierarchical fashion.
7466 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
7467 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
7468 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
7469 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
7470 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
7471 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
7472 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
7474 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
7478 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
7481 A tree-like article structure.
7484 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
7487 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
7488 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
7489 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
7490 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
7491 called loose threads.
7493 @item thread gathering
7494 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
7496 @item sparse threads
7497 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
7498 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
7504 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
7505 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
7509 @node Customizing Threading
7510 @subsection Customizing Threading
7511 @cindex customizing threading
7514 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
7515 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
7516 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
7517 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
7522 @subsubsection Loose Threads
7525 @cindex loose threads
7528 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
7529 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
7530 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
7531 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
7532 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
7533 read or killed the root in a previous session.
7535 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
7536 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
7537 There are four possible values:
7541 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
7542 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
7543 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
7544 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
7545 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
7550 @cindex adopting articles
7555 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
7556 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
7557 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
7558 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
7561 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
7562 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
7563 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
7564 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
7565 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
7566 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
7567 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
7568 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7569 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
7570 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
7573 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
7574 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
7575 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
7579 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
7580 display them after one another.
7583 Don't gather loose threads.
7586 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
7587 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
7588 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
7589 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
7590 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
7591 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
7592 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
7593 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
7594 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
7595 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
7596 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
7598 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
7599 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
7600 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
7603 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
7604 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
7605 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
7606 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
7607 simplification is used.
7609 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7610 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7611 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
7612 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
7614 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
7616 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
7622 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
7623 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
7624 "answer" "reference" "announce"
7625 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
7630 (mapconcat 'identity
7631 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
7633 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
7636 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
7639 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
7640 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
7641 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
7642 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
7643 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
7644 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
7646 Useful functions to put in this list include:
7649 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
7650 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
7651 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
7653 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
7654 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
7657 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
7658 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
7659 Remove excessive whitespace.
7661 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
7662 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
7663 Remove all whitespace.
7666 You may also write your own functions, of course.
7669 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
7670 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
7671 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
7672 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
7673 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
7674 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
7675 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
7676 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
7678 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7679 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7680 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
7681 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
7682 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
7683 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
7684 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
7685 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
7686 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
7690 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
7691 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
7692 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
7693 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
7695 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7696 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
7697 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
7700 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
7704 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
7705 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
7711 @node Filling In Threads
7712 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
7715 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
7716 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7717 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7718 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7719 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7720 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7721 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7722 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7723 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7724 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7725 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7726 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7729 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7730 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7731 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7733 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7735 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7736 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7737 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7738 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7739 slow summary generation.
7741 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7742 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7743 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7746 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7747 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7748 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7749 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7750 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7751 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7752 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7753 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7754 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7755 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7756 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7757 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7758 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7759 @code{nil} by default.
7761 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7762 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7763 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7764 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7765 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7766 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7769 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7770 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7771 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7776 @node More Threading
7777 @subsubsection More Threading
7780 @item gnus-show-threads
7781 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7782 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7783 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7784 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7785 slower and more awkward.
7787 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7788 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7789 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7792 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7793 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7794 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7799 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7800 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7801 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7804 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7805 unread, but you get my drift.)
7808 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7809 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7810 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7811 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7812 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7813 threads are expunged.
7815 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7816 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7817 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7820 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7821 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7822 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7823 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7824 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7825 result in a new thread.
7827 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7828 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7829 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7832 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7833 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7834 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7835 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7836 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7837 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7838 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7839 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7840 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7841 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7842 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7847 @node Low-Level Threading
7848 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7852 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7853 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7854 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7856 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7857 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7858 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7859 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7860 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7861 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7862 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7863 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7864 meaningful. Here's one example:
7867 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7869 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7870 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7872 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7874 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7881 @node Thread Commands
7882 @subsection Thread Commands
7883 @cindex thread commands
7889 @kindex T k (Summary)
7890 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7891 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7892 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7893 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7894 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7899 @kindex T l (Summary)
7900 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7901 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7902 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7903 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7906 @kindex T i (Summary)
7907 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7908 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7909 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7912 @kindex T # (Summary)
7913 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7914 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7915 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7918 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7919 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7920 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7921 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7924 @kindex T T (Summary)
7925 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7926 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7929 @kindex T s (Summary)
7930 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7931 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7932 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7935 @kindex T h (Summary)
7936 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7937 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7940 @kindex T S (Summary)
7941 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7942 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7945 @kindex T H (Summary)
7946 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7947 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7950 @kindex T t (Summary)
7951 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7952 Re-thread the current article's thread
7953 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7954 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7957 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7958 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7959 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7960 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7963 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7964 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7965 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7966 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7970 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7971 understand the numeric prefix.
7976 @kindex T n (Summary)
7978 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7980 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7981 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7982 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7985 @kindex T p (Summary)
7987 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7989 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7990 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7991 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7994 @kindex T d (Summary)
7995 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7996 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7999 @kindex T u (Summary)
8000 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
8001 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
8004 @kindex T o (Summary)
8005 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
8006 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
8009 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
8010 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
8011 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
8012 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
8013 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
8014 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
8015 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
8016 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
8017 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
8018 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
8019 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
8020 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
8024 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
8025 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
8027 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
8028 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
8029 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
8030 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
8031 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
8032 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
8033 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
8034 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
8035 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
8036 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
8037 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
8038 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
8039 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
8040 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
8041 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
8043 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
8044 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
8045 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
8046 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
8047 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
8048 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
8049 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
8050 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
8051 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
8052 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
8054 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
8055 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
8056 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
8058 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
8059 last function in the list. You should probably always include
8060 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
8061 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
8062 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
8063 ascending article order.
8065 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
8066 by number, you could do something like:
8069 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
8070 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
8071 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
8072 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
8075 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
8076 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
8077 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
8078 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
8079 which the articles arrived.
8081 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
8085 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
8086 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
8087 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
8090 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
8091 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
8092 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
8093 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
8096 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
8097 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
8098 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
8099 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
8100 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
8101 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
8102 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
8103 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
8104 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
8105 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
8106 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
8107 variable. It is very similar to the
8108 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
8109 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
8110 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
8111 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
8112 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
8113 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
8114 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
8116 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
8120 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
8121 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
8122 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
8125 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
8126 @xref{Group Parameters}.
8129 @node Asynchronous Fetching
8130 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
8131 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
8132 @cindex article pre-fetch
8135 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
8136 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
8137 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
8138 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
8139 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
8141 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
8142 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
8144 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
8145 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
8146 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
8147 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
8148 connection is blocked.
8150 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
8151 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
8152 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
8153 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
8155 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
8156 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
8157 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
8158 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
8161 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
8164 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
8165 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
8166 happen automatically.
8168 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
8169 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
8170 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
8171 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
8172 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
8173 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
8174 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
8176 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
8177 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
8178 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
8179 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
8180 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
8181 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
8182 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
8183 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
8184 article data structure as the only parameter.
8186 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
8187 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
8190 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
8191 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
8192 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
8193 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
8196 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
8199 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
8200 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
8201 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
8203 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
8204 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
8205 After an article has been prefetched, this
8206 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
8207 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
8208 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
8209 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
8210 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
8211 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
8213 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
8214 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
8215 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
8216 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
8220 Remove articles when they are read.
8223 Remove articles when exiting the group.
8226 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
8228 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
8229 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
8230 @c from the next group.
8233 @node Article Caching
8234 @section Article Caching
8235 @cindex article caching
8238 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
8239 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
8240 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
8241 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
8242 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
8244 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
8246 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8247 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
8248 @vindex gnus-use-cache
8249 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
8250 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
8251 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
8252 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
8253 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
8255 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
8256 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
8257 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
8258 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
8259 as dormant, and don't worry.
8261 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
8263 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
8264 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
8265 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
8266 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
8267 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
8268 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
8269 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
8270 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
8271 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
8272 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
8274 @findex gnus-jog-cache
8275 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
8276 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
8277 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
8278 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
8279 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
8280 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
8281 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
8282 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
8283 not then be downloaded by this command.
8285 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
8286 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
8287 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
8288 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
8289 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
8290 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
8292 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
8293 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
8294 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
8295 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
8296 variables, the group is not cached.
8298 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
8299 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
8300 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
8301 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
8302 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
8303 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
8304 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
8305 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
8306 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
8309 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
8310 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
8311 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
8312 where, isn't that cool?
8314 @node Persistent Articles
8315 @section Persistent Articles
8316 @cindex persistent articles
8318 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
8319 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
8320 useful in my opinion.
8322 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
8323 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
8324 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
8325 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
8326 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
8327 the expiry going on at the news server.
8329 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
8330 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
8331 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
8337 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
8338 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
8341 @kindex M-* (Summary)
8342 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
8343 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
8344 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
8348 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
8350 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
8351 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
8352 interested in persistent articles:
8355 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
8358 @node Sticky Articles
8359 @section Sticky Articles
8360 @cindex sticky articles
8362 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
8363 according to the value of the variable
8364 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
8365 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
8366 has its own article buffer.
8368 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
8369 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
8370 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
8371 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next christmas party.
8373 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
8374 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
8375 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
8379 @kindex A S (Summary)
8380 @findex gnus-sticky-article
8381 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
8382 name for this sticky article buffer.
8385 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
8391 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
8395 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
8396 Kills this sticky article buffer.
8399 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
8401 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
8402 Kill all sticky article buffers.
8403 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
8406 @node Article Backlog
8407 @section Article Backlog
8409 @cindex article backlog
8411 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
8412 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
8413 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
8414 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
8415 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
8416 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
8417 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
8418 increase memory usage some.
8420 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
8421 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
8422 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
8423 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
8424 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
8425 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
8426 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
8428 The default value is 20.
8431 @node Saving Articles
8432 @section Saving Articles
8433 @cindex saving articles
8435 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
8436 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
8437 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
8438 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
8439 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
8441 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
8442 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
8443 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8445 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
8446 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
8447 unwanted headers before saving the article.
8449 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
8450 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
8451 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
8452 deleted before saving.
8458 @kindex O o (Summary)
8460 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
8461 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
8462 Save the current article using the default article saver
8463 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
8466 @kindex O m (Summary)
8467 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
8468 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
8469 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
8472 @kindex O r (Summary)
8473 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
8474 Save the current article in Rmail format
8475 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
8476 Babyl in older versions.
8479 @kindex O f (Summary)
8480 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
8481 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
8482 Save the current article in plain file format
8483 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
8486 @kindex O F (Summary)
8487 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
8488 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
8489 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
8492 @kindex O b (Summary)
8493 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
8494 Save the current article body in plain file format
8495 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
8498 @kindex O h (Summary)
8499 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
8500 Save the current article in mh folder format
8501 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
8504 @kindex O v (Summary)
8505 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
8506 Save the current article in a VM folder
8507 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
8511 @kindex O p (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
8514 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
8515 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
8516 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
8517 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
8518 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
8519 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
8520 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
8521 to a string containing the default command and options (default
8525 @kindex O P (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
8527 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
8528 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
8529 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
8530 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
8531 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
8532 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
8536 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
8537 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
8538 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
8539 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
8540 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
8541 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
8542 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
8543 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
8544 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
8545 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
8546 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
8547 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
8551 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
8552 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
8553 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
8554 functions below, or you can create your own.
8558 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
8559 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
8560 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
8561 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8562 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
8563 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
8564 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
8565 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
8566 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
8567 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8568 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
8570 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
8571 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
8572 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
8573 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
8574 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8575 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
8577 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
8578 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
8579 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
8580 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8581 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
8582 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8583 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8585 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
8586 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
8587 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
8588 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
8589 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8590 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8592 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
8593 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
8594 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
8595 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8596 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8598 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
8599 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
8600 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
8601 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
8602 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
8603 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
8605 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
8606 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
8607 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
8608 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
8609 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
8612 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
8613 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
8614 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
8615 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
8616 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
8618 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
8619 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
8620 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
8621 reader to use this setting.
8623 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
8624 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
8625 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
8626 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
8630 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
8632 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
8633 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
8634 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
8635 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
8636 last used for saving.
8639 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
8640 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
8641 headers will be piped.
8644 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
8648 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
8649 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
8650 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
8651 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
8652 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
8653 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
8656 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
8657 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
8658 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
8659 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
8660 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
8661 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
8664 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
8665 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
8666 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
8667 headers should be saved.
8670 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
8671 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
8672 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
8673 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
8676 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
8677 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
8678 available functions that generate names:
8682 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
8683 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
8684 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8686 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
8687 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
8688 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
8690 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
8691 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
8692 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8694 @item gnus-plain-save-name
8695 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
8696 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
8698 @item gnus-sender-save-name
8699 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
8700 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
8703 @vindex gnus-split-methods
8704 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
8705 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
8706 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
8707 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
8711 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
8712 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
8713 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
8714 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8717 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8718 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8719 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8720 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8721 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8722 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8723 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8724 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8725 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8727 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8728 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8729 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8730 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8732 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8733 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8734 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8737 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8738 lots of mail groups called things like
8739 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8740 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8741 following will do just that:
8744 (defun my-save-name (group)
8745 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8746 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8748 (setq gnus-split-methods
8749 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8754 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8755 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8756 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8757 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8758 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8759 all the files in the top level directory
8760 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8761 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8762 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8763 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8765 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8766 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8767 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8768 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8769 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8772 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8776 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8777 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8778 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8781 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8782 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8783 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8784 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8787 @node Decoding Articles
8788 @section Decoding Articles
8789 @cindex decoding articles
8791 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8792 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8795 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8796 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8797 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8798 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8799 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8800 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8804 @cindex article series
8805 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8806 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8807 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8808 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8809 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8811 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8812 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8813 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8815 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8816 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8817 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8819 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8820 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8821 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8824 @node Uuencoded Articles
8825 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8827 @cindex uuencoded articles
8832 @kindex X u (Summary)
8833 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8834 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8835 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8838 @kindex X U (Summary)
8839 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8840 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8841 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8844 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8845 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8846 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8849 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8850 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8851 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8852 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8856 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8857 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8858 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8859 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8860 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8862 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8863 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8864 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8865 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8868 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8869 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8870 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8871 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8872 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8873 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8877 @node Shell Archives
8878 @subsection Shell Archives
8880 @cindex shell archives
8881 @cindex shared articles
8883 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8884 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8885 some commands to deal with these:
8890 @kindex X s (Summary)
8891 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8892 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8895 @kindex X S (Summary)
8896 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8897 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8900 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8901 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8902 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8905 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8906 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8907 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8908 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8912 @node PostScript Files
8913 @subsection PostScript Files
8919 @kindex X p (Summary)
8920 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8921 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8924 @kindex X P (Summary)
8925 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8926 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8927 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8930 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8931 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8932 View the current PostScript series
8933 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8936 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8937 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8938 View and save the current PostScript series
8939 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8944 @subsection Other Files
8948 @kindex X o (Summary)
8949 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8950 Save the current series
8951 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8954 @kindex X b (Summary)
8955 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8956 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8957 doesn't really work yet.
8960 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8961 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8962 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8966 @node Decoding Variables
8967 @subsection Decoding Variables
8969 Adjective, not verb.
8972 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8973 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8974 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8978 @node Rule Variables
8979 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8980 @cindex rule variables
8982 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8983 variables are of the form
8986 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8993 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8994 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8996 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8997 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
9000 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
9001 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
9004 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
9005 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
9006 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
9007 user and default view rules.
9009 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
9010 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
9011 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
9016 @node Other Decode Variables
9017 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
9020 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
9022 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
9023 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
9024 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
9025 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
9026 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
9030 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
9031 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
9034 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
9035 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
9036 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
9039 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
9040 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
9041 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
9042 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
9043 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
9046 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
9047 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
9048 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
9050 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
9051 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
9052 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
9053 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
9054 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
9057 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
9058 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
9059 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
9061 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
9062 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
9063 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
9064 looking for files to display.
9066 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
9067 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
9068 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
9071 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
9072 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
9073 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
9076 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
9077 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
9078 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
9081 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
9082 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
9083 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
9086 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
9087 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
9088 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
9089 decoded articles as unread.
9091 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
9092 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
9093 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
9094 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
9096 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
9097 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
9098 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
9100 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
9101 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
9103 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
9104 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
9105 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
9106 @code{metamail} for viewing.
9108 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
9109 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
9110 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
9111 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
9112 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
9113 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
9114 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
9115 simply dropped them.
9120 @node Uuencoding and Posting
9121 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
9125 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
9126 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
9127 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
9128 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
9129 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
9130 for you when you post the article.
9132 @item gnus-uu-post-length
9133 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
9134 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
9135 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
9137 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
9138 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
9139 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
9140 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
9141 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
9142 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
9143 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
9145 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
9146 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
9147 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
9148 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
9149 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
9150 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
9151 Default is @code{t}.
9157 @subsection Viewing Files
9158 @cindex viewing files
9159 @cindex pseudo-articles
9161 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
9162 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
9163 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
9164 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
9165 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
9166 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
9167 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
9169 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
9170 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
9171 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
9172 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
9174 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
9175 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
9176 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
9178 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
9179 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
9180 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
9181 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
9182 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
9184 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
9185 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
9186 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
9187 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
9188 a list of parameters to that command.
9190 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
9191 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
9192 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
9194 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
9195 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
9196 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
9199 @node Article Treatment
9200 @section Article Treatment
9202 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
9203 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
9204 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
9205 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
9206 these articles easier.
9209 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
9210 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
9211 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
9212 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
9213 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
9214 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
9215 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
9216 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
9217 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
9218 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
9219 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
9220 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
9224 @node Article Highlighting
9225 @subsection Article Highlighting
9226 @cindex highlighting
9228 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
9229 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
9234 @kindex W H a (Summary)
9235 @findex gnus-article-highlight
9236 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
9237 Do much highlighting of the current article
9238 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
9239 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
9242 @kindex W H h (Summary)
9243 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
9244 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
9245 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
9246 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
9247 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
9248 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
9249 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
9250 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
9251 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
9252 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
9253 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
9256 @kindex W H c (Summary)
9257 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
9258 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
9260 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
9263 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
9265 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
9266 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
9267 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
9269 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
9270 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
9271 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
9273 @item gnus-cite-face-list
9274 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
9275 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
9276 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
9277 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
9278 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
9280 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
9281 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
9282 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
9284 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
9285 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
9286 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
9288 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
9289 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
9290 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
9291 that it's a citation.
9293 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
9294 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
9295 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
9297 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
9298 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
9299 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
9301 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
9302 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
9303 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
9304 cited text belonging to the attribution.
9306 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
9307 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
9308 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
9309 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
9310 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
9317 @kindex W H s (Summary)
9318 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9319 @vindex gnus-signature-face
9320 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
9321 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
9322 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
9323 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
9324 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
9329 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
9332 @node Article Fontisizing
9333 @subsection Article Fontisizing
9335 @cindex article emphasis
9337 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
9338 @kindex W e (Summary)
9339 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
9340 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
9341 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
9342 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
9344 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
9345 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
9346 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
9347 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
9348 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
9349 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
9350 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
9351 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
9355 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
9356 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
9357 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
9366 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
9367 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
9368 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
9369 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
9370 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
9371 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
9372 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
9373 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
9374 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
9375 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
9376 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
9377 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
9378 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
9380 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
9381 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
9382 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
9386 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
9389 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
9391 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
9392 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
9393 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
9394 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
9396 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
9399 @node Article Hiding
9400 @subsection Article Hiding
9401 @cindex article hiding
9403 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
9404 too much cruft in most articles.
9409 @kindex W W a (Summary)
9410 @findex gnus-article-hide
9411 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
9412 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
9413 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
9416 @kindex W W h (Summary)
9417 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
9418 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
9422 @kindex W W b (Summary)
9423 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9424 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
9425 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
9428 @kindex W W s (Summary)
9429 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
9430 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
9434 @kindex W W l (Summary)
9435 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
9436 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
9437 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
9438 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
9439 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
9440 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
9441 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
9445 @item gnus-list-identifiers
9446 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
9447 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
9448 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
9453 @kindex W W P (Summary)
9454 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
9455 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
9456 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
9459 @kindex W W B (Summary)
9460 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
9461 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
9462 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9465 @cindex stripping advertisements
9466 @cindex advertisements
9467 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
9468 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
9469 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
9470 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
9471 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
9472 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
9473 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
9474 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
9475 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
9476 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
9482 (setq gnus-article-banner-alist
9484 "^\n*--~--~---------\\(.+\n\\)+")))
9487 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
9488 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
9489 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
9493 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9494 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
9495 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
9496 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
9497 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
9498 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
9499 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
9500 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
9501 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
9502 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
9503 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
9506 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
9507 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
9513 @kindex W W c (Summary)
9514 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
9515 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
9516 customizing the hiding:
9520 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
9521 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
9522 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
9523 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
9524 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
9525 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
9526 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
9531 Starting point of the hidden text.
9533 Ending point of the hidden text.
9535 Number of characters in the hidden region.
9537 Number of lines of hidden text.
9540 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
9541 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
9542 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
9543 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
9544 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
9549 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
9550 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
9552 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
9553 following two variables:
9556 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
9557 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
9558 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
9559 50), hide the cited text.
9561 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
9562 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
9563 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
9568 @kindex W W C (Summary)
9569 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
9570 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
9571 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
9572 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
9573 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
9577 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
9578 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
9579 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
9581 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
9582 citation customization.
9584 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
9588 @node Article Washing
9589 @subsection Article Washing
9591 @cindex article washing
9593 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
9594 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
9596 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
9597 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
9600 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
9601 articles by default.
9606 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
9607 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
9611 Force redisplaying of the current article
9612 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
9613 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
9614 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
9615 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
9618 @kindex W l (Summary)
9619 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
9620 Remove page breaks from the current article
9621 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
9625 @kindex W r (Summary)
9626 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
9627 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
9628 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
9629 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
9630 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
9631 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
9633 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
9634 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
9635 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
9636 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
9639 @kindex W m (Summary)
9640 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
9641 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
9644 @kindex W i (Summary)
9645 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
9646 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
9647 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
9648 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
9649 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
9650 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
9655 @kindex W t (Summary)
9657 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
9658 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
9659 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
9662 @kindex W v (Summary)
9663 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
9664 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
9665 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
9668 @kindex W o (Summary)
9669 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
9670 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
9673 @kindex W d (Summary)
9674 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
9675 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
9677 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
9679 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
9680 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
9681 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
9682 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
9685 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
9686 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
9687 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
9688 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
9691 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
9692 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
9693 @cindex Outlook Express
9694 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
9695 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
9696 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
9699 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
9700 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
9701 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
9702 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
9703 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
9704 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
9705 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
9706 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
9707 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
9708 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9711 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9712 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9713 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9714 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9717 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9718 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9719 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9720 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9723 @kindex W w (Summary)
9724 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9725 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9727 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9731 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9732 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9733 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9736 @kindex W C (Summary)
9737 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9738 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9739 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9742 @kindex W c (Summary)
9743 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9744 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9745 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9746 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9747 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9750 @kindex W q (Summary)
9751 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9752 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9753 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9754 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9755 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9756 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9757 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9758 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9759 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9762 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9763 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9764 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9765 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9766 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9767 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9768 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9769 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9772 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9773 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9774 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9775 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9776 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9779 @kindex W A (Summary)
9780 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9781 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9782 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9783 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9784 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9787 @kindex W u (Summary)
9788 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9789 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9790 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9791 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9792 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9795 @kindex W h (Summary)
9796 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9797 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9798 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9799 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9801 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9802 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9803 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9805 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
9806 The default is to use the function specified by
9807 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9808 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9809 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
9810 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
9814 @item gnus-article-html
9815 Use Gnus rendered based on w3m.
9821 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9823 @item w3m-standalone
9824 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9827 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9830 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9833 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9838 @kindex W b (Summary)
9839 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9840 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9841 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9844 @kindex W B (Summary)
9845 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9846 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9847 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9850 @kindex W p (Summary)
9851 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9852 Verify a signed control message
9853 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9854 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9855 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9856 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9857 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9858 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9861 @kindex W s (Summary)
9862 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9863 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9864 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9865 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9868 @kindex W a (Summary)
9869 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9870 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9871 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9874 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9875 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9876 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9877 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9880 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9882 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9883 lines with a single empty line.
9884 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9887 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9888 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9889 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9890 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9893 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9894 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9895 Do all the three commands above
9896 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9899 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9900 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9901 Remove all blank lines
9902 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9905 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9906 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9907 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9908 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9911 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9912 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9913 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9914 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9918 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9921 @node Article Header
9922 @subsection Article Header
9924 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9929 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9930 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9931 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9934 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9935 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9936 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9937 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9940 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9941 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9942 Fold all the message headers
9943 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9946 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9947 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9948 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9949 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9954 @node Article Buttons
9955 @subsection Article Buttons
9958 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9959 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9960 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9961 button on these references.
9963 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9964 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9965 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9966 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9967 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9971 @item gnus-button-alist
9972 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9973 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9976 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9982 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9983 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9984 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9985 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9986 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9989 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9990 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9991 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9994 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9995 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9996 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9997 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9998 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
10000 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
10003 This function will be called when you click on this button.
10006 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
10007 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
10011 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
10014 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
10017 @item gnus-header-button-alist
10018 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
10019 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
10020 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
10021 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
10024 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
10027 @var{header} is a regular expression.
10030 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
10033 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
10034 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
10036 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
10038 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
10039 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
10040 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
10041 default values of the variables above.
10043 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
10045 @item gnus-button-man-handler
10046 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
10047 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
10048 argument with a string naming the man page.
10050 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
10052 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
10053 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
10054 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
10056 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
10057 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
10058 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
10059 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
10060 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
10061 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
10062 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
10063 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
10064 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
10065 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
10066 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
10067 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
10069 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
10070 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
10071 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
10072 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
10073 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
10076 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
10077 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
10078 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
10079 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
10083 @item gnus-article-button-face
10084 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
10085 Face used on buttons.
10087 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
10088 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
10089 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
10093 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
10096 @node Article Button Levels
10097 @subsection Article button levels
10098 @cindex button levels
10099 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
10100 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
10101 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
10102 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
10103 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
10104 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
10105 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
10106 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
10109 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
10110 (setq gnus-parameters
10111 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
10112 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
10113 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
10118 @item gnus-button-browse-level
10119 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
10120 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
10121 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
10122 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
10123 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
10125 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
10126 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
10127 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
10128 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
10129 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
10130 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
10131 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
10132 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
10133 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
10134 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
10135 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
10136 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
10137 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
10139 @item gnus-button-man-level
10140 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
10141 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
10142 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
10144 @item gnus-button-message-level
10145 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
10146 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
10147 Related variables and functions include
10148 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
10149 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
10150 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
10151 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
10157 @subsection Article Date
10159 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
10160 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
10161 when the article was sent.
10166 @kindex W T u (Summary)
10167 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
10168 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
10169 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
10172 @kindex W T i (Summary)
10173 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
10175 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
10176 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
10179 @kindex W T l (Summary)
10180 @findex gnus-article-date-local
10181 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
10184 @kindex W T p (Summary)
10185 @findex gnus-article-date-english
10186 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
10187 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
10190 @kindex W T s (Summary)
10191 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
10192 @findex gnus-article-date-user
10193 @findex format-time-string
10194 Display the date using a user-defined format
10195 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
10196 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
10197 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
10198 for a list of possible format specs.
10201 @kindex W T e (Summary)
10202 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
10203 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
10204 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
10205 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
10206 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
10209 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
10212 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
10213 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
10214 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
10217 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
10218 into wonderful absurdities.
10220 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
10223 (gnus-start-date-timer)
10226 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
10227 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
10231 @kindex W T o (Summary)
10232 @findex gnus-article-date-original
10233 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
10234 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
10235 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
10236 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
10237 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
10241 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
10242 preferred format automatically.
10245 @node Article Display
10246 @subsection Article Display
10252 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
10253 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
10255 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
10256 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
10258 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
10259 headers (@pxref{Face}).
10261 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
10262 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
10264 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
10265 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
10267 Gravatars reside on-line and are fetched from
10268 @uref{http://www.gravatar.com/} (@pxref{Gravatars}).
10270 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
10271 they'll be removed.
10275 @kindex W D x (Summary)
10276 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
10277 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
10278 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
10281 @kindex W D d (Summary)
10282 @findex gnus-article-display-face
10283 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
10284 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
10287 @kindex W D s (Summary)
10288 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
10289 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
10292 @kindex W D f (Summary)
10293 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
10294 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
10297 @kindex W D m (Summary)
10298 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
10299 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
10300 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
10303 @kindex W D n (Summary)
10304 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
10305 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
10306 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
10309 @kindex W D g (Summary)
10310 @findex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
10311 Gravatarify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
10314 @kindex W D h (Summary)
10315 @findex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
10316 Gravatarify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
10317 (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
10320 @kindex W D D (Summary)
10321 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
10322 Remove all images from the article buffer
10323 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
10326 @kindex W D W (Summary)
10327 @findex gnus-html-show-images
10328 If you're reading an @acronym{HTML} article rendered with
10329 @code{gnus-article-html}, then you can insert any blocked images in
10330 the buffer with this command.
10331 (@code{gnus-html-show-images}).
10337 @node Article Signature
10338 @subsection Article Signature
10340 @cindex article signature
10342 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
10343 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
10344 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
10345 that says what is to be considered a signature is
10346 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
10347 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
10348 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
10349 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
10350 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
10353 (setq gnus-signature-separator
10354 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
10355 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
10356 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
10357 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
10358 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
10359 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
10360 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
10363 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
10366 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
10367 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
10368 signature when displaying articles.
10372 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
10375 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
10378 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
10379 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
10381 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
10382 in question is not a signature.
10385 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
10386 listed above. Here's an example:
10389 (setq gnus-signature-limit
10390 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
10393 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
10394 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
10395 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
10396 signature after all.
10399 @node Article Miscellanea
10400 @subsection Article Miscellanea
10404 @kindex A t (Summary)
10405 @findex gnus-article-babel
10406 Translate the article from one language to another
10407 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
10412 @node MIME Commands
10413 @section MIME Commands
10414 @cindex MIME decoding
10415 @cindex attachments
10416 @cindex viewing attachments
10418 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
10419 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
10424 @kindex b (Summary)
10425 @kindex K v (Summary)
10426 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
10429 @kindex K o (Summary)
10430 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
10433 @kindex K O (Summary)
10434 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
10435 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
10436 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
10439 @kindex K r (Summary)
10440 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
10443 @kindex K d (Summary)
10444 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
10448 @kindex K c (Summary)
10449 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
10452 @kindex K e (Summary)
10453 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
10456 @kindex K i (Summary)
10457 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
10460 @kindex K | (Summary)
10461 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
10464 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
10469 @kindex K H (Summary)
10470 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
10471 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
10472 Inline images embedded in a message using the @code{cid} scheme, as they
10473 are generally considered to be safe, will be processed properly. The
10474 message header is added to the beginning of every @acronym{HTML} part
10475 unless the prefix argument is given.
10477 Warning: Spammers use links to images (using the @code{http} scheme) in
10478 @acronym{HTML} articles to verify whether you have read the message. As
10479 this command passes the @acronym{HTML} content to the browser without
10480 eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should only use it for mails from
10483 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
10484 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
10486 This command creates temporary files to pass @acronym{HTML} contents
10487 including images if any to the browser, and deletes them when exiting
10488 the group (if you want).
10491 @kindex K b (Summary)
10492 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
10493 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
10497 @kindex K m (Summary)
10498 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
10499 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
10500 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
10501 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
10502 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
10505 @kindex X m (Summary)
10506 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
10507 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
10508 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
10509 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10512 @kindex M-t (Summary)
10513 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
10514 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
10515 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
10518 @kindex W M w (Summary)
10519 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
10520 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
10521 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
10524 @kindex W M c (Summary)
10525 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
10526 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
10527 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
10529 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
10530 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
10531 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
10532 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
10533 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
10534 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10537 @kindex W M v (Summary)
10538 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
10539 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
10540 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
10544 Relevant variables:
10547 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
10548 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
10549 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10550 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
10553 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
10556 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
10560 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
10561 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
10562 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
10563 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
10564 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
10565 default is @code{t}.
10567 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
10568 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
10571 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
10572 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
10573 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
10574 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
10575 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
10576 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
10577 for encoding in Gnus.
10579 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
10580 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
10581 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10582 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
10583 displayed or this variable is overridden by
10584 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
10585 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
10586 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
10588 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
10589 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
10590 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
10591 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
10592 displayed. This variable overrides
10593 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
10594 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
10597 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
10598 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
10599 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
10601 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
10602 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
10603 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
10604 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
10605 Emacs MIME Manual}).
10607 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
10608 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
10609 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
10610 default value is @code{nil}.
10612 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
10613 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
10614 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
10615 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
10616 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
10617 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
10618 save all jpegs into some directory).
10620 Here's an example function the does the latter:
10623 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
10624 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
10626 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
10627 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
10628 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
10629 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
10630 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
10633 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
10634 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
10635 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
10637 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
10638 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
10639 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
10641 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
10642 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
10643 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
10645 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
10646 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
10647 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
10648 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
10649 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
10651 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
10652 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
10653 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
10654 overrides @code{nil} values of
10655 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
10656 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
10658 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10659 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10660 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
10661 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
10663 Ready-made functions include@*
10664 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
10665 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
10666 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
10667 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
10668 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
10669 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
10670 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
10671 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
10672 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
10673 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
10674 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
10675 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
10677 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
10678 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
10680 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
10681 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
10682 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
10685 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
10686 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
10687 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
10688 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
10692 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
10701 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
10702 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
10703 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
10704 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
10705 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
10706 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
10707 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
10709 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
10710 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
10711 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
10712 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
10714 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
10715 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
10716 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
10717 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10718 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10719 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10720 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10721 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10722 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10724 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10725 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10726 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10727 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10728 quoted-printable header encoding.
10730 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10731 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10732 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10736 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10739 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10740 means encode all charsets),
10742 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10743 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10744 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10751 @cindex coding system aliases
10752 @cindex preferred charset
10754 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10755 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10756 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10758 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10760 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10761 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10764 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10765 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10768 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10769 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10771 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10774 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10777 This will almost do the right thing.
10779 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10783 (codepage-setup 1251)
10784 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10788 @node Article Commands
10789 @section Article Commands
10796 @kindex A P (Summary)
10797 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10798 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10799 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10800 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10801 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10802 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10805 @vindex gnus-fetch-partial-articles
10806 @findex gnus-summary-show-complete-article
10807 If @code{<backend>-fetch-partial-articles} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
10808 fetch partial articles, if the backend it fetches them from supports
10809 it. Currently only @code{nnimap} does. If you're looking at a
10810 partial article, and want to see the complete article instead, then
10811 the @kbd{A C} command (@code{gnus-summary-show-complete-article}) will
10817 @node Summary Sorting
10818 @section Summary Sorting
10819 @cindex summary sorting
10821 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10822 can't really see why you'd want that.
10827 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10828 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10829 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10831 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10832 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10833 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10834 Sort by most recent article number
10835 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10838 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10839 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10840 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10843 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10844 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10845 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10848 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10849 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10850 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10853 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10854 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10855 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10857 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10858 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10859 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10860 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10863 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10864 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10865 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10868 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10869 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10870 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10873 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10874 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10875 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10878 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10879 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10880 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10883 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10884 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10885 Sort using the default sorting method
10886 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10889 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10890 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10891 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10892 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10893 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10896 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10899 @node Finding the Parent
10900 @section Finding the Parent
10901 @cindex parent articles
10902 @cindex referring articles
10906 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10907 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10908 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10909 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10910 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10911 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10912 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10913 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10914 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10915 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10917 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10918 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10919 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10920 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
10921 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
10924 @item A R (Summary)
10925 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10926 @kindex A R (Summary)
10927 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10928 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10930 @item A T (Summary)
10931 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10932 @kindex A T (Summary)
10933 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10934 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10935 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10936 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10937 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10938 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10939 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10941 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10942 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
10943 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10944 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10945 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10946 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10948 @item M-^ (Summary)
10949 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10950 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10952 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10953 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10954 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10955 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10956 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10957 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10959 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10960 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10961 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10964 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10965 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10966 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10967 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10968 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10969 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10972 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10973 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10974 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10977 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10978 then ask Google if that fails:
10981 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10983 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10986 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10987 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10988 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10989 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10990 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10991 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
10992 not support this at all.
10995 @node Alternative Approaches
10996 @section Alternative Approaches
10998 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10999 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
11002 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
11003 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
11007 @node Pick and Read
11008 @subsection Pick and Read
11009 @cindex pick and read
11011 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
11012 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
11013 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
11014 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
11016 @findex gnus-pick-mode
11017 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
11018 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
11019 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
11020 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
11021 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
11023 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
11028 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
11029 Pick the article or thread on the current line
11030 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
11031 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
11032 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
11033 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
11034 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
11035 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
11038 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
11039 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
11040 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
11041 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
11045 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
11046 Unpick the thread or article
11047 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
11048 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
11049 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
11050 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
11051 the thread or article at that line.
11055 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
11056 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
11057 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
11058 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
11059 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
11060 will still be visible when you are reading.
11064 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
11065 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
11066 which is mapped to the same function
11067 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
11069 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
11072 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
11075 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
11076 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
11078 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
11079 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
11080 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
11082 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
11083 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
11084 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
11085 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
11086 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
11087 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
11088 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
11091 @node Binary Groups
11092 @subsection Binary Groups
11093 @cindex binary groups
11095 @findex gnus-binary-mode
11096 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
11097 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
11098 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
11099 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
11100 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
11101 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
11104 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
11105 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
11106 command, when you have turned on this mode
11107 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
11109 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
11110 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
11114 @section Tree Display
11117 @vindex gnus-use-trees
11118 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
11119 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
11120 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
11121 in the tree buffer.
11123 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
11126 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
11127 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
11128 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
11130 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
11131 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
11132 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
11133 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
11134 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
11136 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
11137 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
11138 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
11139 default is @code{modeline}.
11141 @item gnus-tree-line-format
11142 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
11143 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
11144 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
11145 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
11146 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
11147 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
11153 The name of the poster.
11155 The @code{From} header.
11157 The number of the article.
11159 The opening bracket.
11161 The closing bracket.
11166 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
11168 Variables related to the display are:
11171 @item gnus-tree-brackets
11172 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
11173 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
11174 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
11176 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
11177 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
11178 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
11180 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
11182 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
11183 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
11184 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
11185 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
11189 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
11190 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
11191 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
11192 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
11193 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
11194 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
11195 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
11196 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
11197 other windows displayed next to it.
11199 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
11203 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
11204 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
11207 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
11208 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
11209 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
11210 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
11211 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
11212 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
11213 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
11217 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
11220 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
11230 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
11235 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
11236 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
11238 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
11240 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
11246 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
11247 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
11248 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11251 (setq gnus-use-trees t
11252 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
11253 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
11254 (gnus-add-configuration
11258 (summary 0.75 point)
11263 @xref{Window Layout}.
11266 @node Mail Group Commands
11267 @section Mail Group Commands
11268 @cindex mail group commands
11270 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
11271 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
11273 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
11274 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11279 @kindex B e (Summary)
11280 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
11281 @cindex expiring mail
11282 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
11283 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
11284 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
11285 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
11288 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
11289 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
11290 @cindex expiring mail
11291 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
11292 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
11293 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
11294 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
11297 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
11298 @cindex deleting mail
11299 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
11300 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
11301 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
11302 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
11303 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
11306 @kindex B m (Summary)
11308 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
11309 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
11310 Move the article from one mail group to another
11311 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
11312 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
11315 @kindex B c (Summary)
11317 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
11318 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
11319 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
11320 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
11321 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
11324 @kindex B B (Summary)
11325 @cindex crosspost mail
11326 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
11327 Crosspost the current article to some other group
11328 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
11329 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
11330 be properly updated.
11333 @kindex B i (Summary)
11334 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
11335 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
11336 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
11337 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
11340 @kindex B I (Summary)
11341 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
11342 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
11343 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
11344 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
11347 @kindex B r (Summary)
11348 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
11349 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
11350 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
11351 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
11352 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
11353 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
11354 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
11355 (which is the default).
11359 @kindex B w (Summary)
11360 @kindex e (Summary)
11361 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
11362 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
11363 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
11364 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
11365 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
11366 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
11367 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
11370 @kindex B q (Summary)
11371 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
11372 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
11373 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
11374 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
11377 @kindex B t (Summary)
11378 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
11379 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
11380 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
11383 @kindex B p (Summary)
11384 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
11385 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
11386 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
11387 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
11388 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
11389 article from your news server (or rather, from
11390 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
11391 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
11392 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
11393 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
11394 just not have arrived yet.
11397 @kindex K E (Summary)
11398 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
11399 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
11400 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
11401 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
11402 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
11406 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
11407 @cindex moving articles
11408 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
11409 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
11410 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
11411 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
11412 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
11413 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
11414 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
11417 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
11418 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
11419 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
11420 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
11424 @node Various Summary Stuff
11425 @section Various Summary Stuff
11428 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
11429 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
11430 * Summary Generation Commands::
11431 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
11435 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
11436 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
11437 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
11438 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
11439 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
11440 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
11442 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
11443 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
11444 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
11447 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
11448 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
11449 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
11451 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
11452 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
11453 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
11454 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
11455 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
11456 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
11459 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
11460 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
11461 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
11462 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
11463 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
11465 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
11466 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
11467 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
11470 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
11471 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
11472 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
11473 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
11474 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
11475 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
11476 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
11477 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
11478 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
11479 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
11481 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
11482 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
11483 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
11484 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
11485 list of articles to be selected.
11487 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
11488 the list in one particular group:
11491 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
11492 (if (string= group "some.group")
11493 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
11497 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
11498 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
11499 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
11500 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
11501 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
11504 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
11505 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
11506 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
11507 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
11508 variable will be used instead.
11510 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
11511 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
11512 buffers. For example:
11515 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
11516 '(message-use-followup-to
11517 (gnus-visible-headers .
11518 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
11521 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
11523 @vindex gnus-propagate-marks
11524 @item gnus-propagate-marks
11525 If non-@code{nil}, propagate marks to the backends for possible
11526 storing. @xref{NNTP marks}, and friends, for a more fine-grained
11532 @node Summary Group Information
11533 @subsection Summary Group Information
11538 @kindex H d (Summary)
11539 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
11540 Give a brief description of the current group
11541 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
11542 rereading the description from the server.
11545 @kindex H h (Summary)
11546 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
11547 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
11548 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
11551 @kindex H i (Summary)
11552 @findex gnus-info-find-node
11553 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
11557 @node Searching for Articles
11558 @subsection Searching for Articles
11563 @kindex M-s (Summary)
11564 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
11565 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
11566 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
11569 @kindex M-r (Summary)
11570 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
11571 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
11572 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
11575 @kindex M-S (Summary)
11576 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
11577 Repeat the previous search forwards
11578 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
11581 @kindex M-R (Summary)
11582 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
11583 Repeat the previous search backwards
11584 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
11587 @kindex & (Summary)
11588 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
11589 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
11590 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
11591 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
11592 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
11593 search backward instead.
11595 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
11596 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
11599 @kindex M-& (Summary)
11600 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
11601 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
11602 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
11605 @node Summary Generation Commands
11606 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
11611 @kindex Y g (Summary)
11612 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
11613 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
11616 @kindex Y c (Summary)
11617 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
11618 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11619 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
11622 @kindex Y d (Summary)
11623 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
11624 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11625 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
11628 @kindex Y t (Summary)
11629 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
11630 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
11631 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
11636 @node Really Various Summary Commands
11637 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
11643 @kindex C-d (Summary)
11644 @kindex A D (Summary)
11645 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
11646 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
11647 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
11648 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
11649 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
11650 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
11651 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
11652 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
11655 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
11656 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
11657 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
11662 Select the next article.
11665 Select the next unread article.
11667 @item next-noselect
11668 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
11670 @item next-unread-noselect
11671 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
11674 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
11675 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
11678 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
11679 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
11680 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
11681 several documents into one biiig group
11682 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
11683 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
11684 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
11685 command understands the process/prefix convention
11686 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11689 @kindex C-t (Summary)
11690 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
11691 Toggle truncation of summary lines
11692 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
11693 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
11694 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
11697 @kindex = (Summary)
11698 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
11699 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
11700 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
11703 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
11704 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
11705 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11706 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
11709 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
11710 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
11711 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11712 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11717 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11718 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11719 @cindex summary exit
11720 @cindex exiting groups
11722 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11723 group and return you to the group buffer.
11730 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11731 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11732 @kindex q (Summary)
11733 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11734 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11735 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11736 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11737 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11738 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11739 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11740 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11741 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11742 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11743 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11744 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11748 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11749 @kindex Q (Summary)
11750 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11751 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11752 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11756 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11757 @kindex c (Summary)
11758 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11759 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11760 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11761 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11764 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11765 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11766 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11767 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11770 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11771 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11772 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11773 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11776 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11777 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11778 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11779 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11783 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11784 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11785 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11786 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11787 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11788 all articles, both read and unread.
11792 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11793 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11794 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11795 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11796 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11797 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11798 articles, both read and unread.
11801 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11802 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11803 Exit the group and go to the next group
11804 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11807 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11808 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11809 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11810 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11813 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11814 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11815 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11816 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11817 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11818 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11821 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11822 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11823 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11824 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11826 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11827 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11828 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11829 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11830 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11831 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11832 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11833 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11834 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11835 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11836 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11837 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11839 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11841 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11842 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11843 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
11844 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11845 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11846 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11847 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11848 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11849 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11852 @node Crosspost Handling
11853 @section Crosspost Handling
11857 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11858 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11859 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11860 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11861 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11864 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11865 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11866 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11867 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11868 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11870 @cindex cross-posting
11872 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11873 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11874 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11875 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11876 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11877 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11878 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11879 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11880 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11881 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11882 the cross reference mechanism.
11884 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11885 @cindex overview.fmt
11886 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11887 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11888 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11889 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11890 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11891 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11894 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11895 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11896 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11900 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11903 @node Duplicate Suppression
11904 @section Duplicate Suppression
11906 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11907 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11908 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11909 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11914 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11915 is evil and not very common.
11918 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11919 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11922 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11923 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11926 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11929 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11930 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11932 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11933 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11934 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11935 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11936 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11937 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11938 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11941 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11942 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11943 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11944 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11945 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11946 saw the article in.
11949 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11950 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11951 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11953 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11954 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11955 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11956 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11957 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11958 session are suppressed.
11960 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11961 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11962 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11963 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11965 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11966 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11967 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11968 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11971 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11972 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11973 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11974 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11975 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11976 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11977 to you to figure out, I think.
11982 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11983 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11984 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11989 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11990 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
11991 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
11992 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
11993 PGG Manual}), and Mailcrypt are also supported.
11996 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11997 or newer is recommended.
12001 The variables that control security functionality on reading/composing
12005 @item mm-verify-option
12006 @vindex mm-verify-option
12007 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
12008 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
12009 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
12011 @item mm-decrypt-option
12012 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
12013 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
12014 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
12015 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
12017 @item mm-sign-option
12018 @vindex mm-sign-option
12019 Option of creating signed parts. @code{nil}, use default signing
12020 keys; @code{guided}, ask user to select signing keys from the menu.
12022 @item mm-encrypt-option
12023 @vindex mm-encrypt-option
12024 Option of creating encrypted parts. @code{nil}, use the first
12025 public-key matching the @samp{From:} header as the recipient;
12026 @code{guided}, ask user to select recipient keys from the menu.
12029 @vindex mml1991-use
12030 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
12031 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
12032 and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported although
12033 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
12037 @vindex mml2015-use
12038 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
12039 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
12040 @code{pgg}, and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported
12041 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
12042 interface in this order.
12046 By default the buttons that display security information are not
12047 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
12048 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
12049 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
12050 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
12051 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
12052 how to customize these variables to always display security
12055 @cindex snarfing keys
12056 @cindex importing PGP keys
12057 @cindex PGP key ring import
12058 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
12059 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
12060 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
12061 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
12062 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
12063 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
12064 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
12065 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
12066 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
12069 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
12072 This happens to also be the default action defined in
12073 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
12075 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
12076 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
12077 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
12080 @section Mailing List
12081 @cindex mailing list
12084 @kindex A M (summary)
12085 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
12086 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
12087 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
12088 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
12091 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
12096 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
12097 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
12098 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
12101 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
12102 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
12103 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
12106 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
12107 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
12108 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
12112 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
12113 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
12114 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
12117 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
12118 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
12119 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
12122 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
12123 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
12124 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
12129 @node Article Buffer
12130 @chapter Article Buffer
12131 @cindex article buffer
12133 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
12134 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
12135 tell Gnus otherwise.
12138 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
12139 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
12140 * HTML:: Reading @acronym{HTML} messages.
12141 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
12142 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
12143 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
12147 @node Hiding Headers
12148 @section Hiding Headers
12149 @cindex hiding headers
12150 @cindex deleting headers
12152 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
12153 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
12155 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
12156 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
12157 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
12158 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
12159 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
12160 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
12161 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
12162 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
12163 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
12165 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
12169 @item gnus-visible-headers
12170 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
12171 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
12172 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
12173 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
12175 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
12176 the article and the subject, you'd say:
12179 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
12182 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
12185 @item gnus-ignored-headers
12186 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
12187 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
12188 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
12189 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
12190 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
12192 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
12193 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
12196 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
12199 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
12202 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
12203 variable will have no effect.
12207 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
12208 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
12209 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
12210 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
12211 the headers are to be displayed.
12213 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
12214 and then the subject, you might say something like:
12217 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
12220 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
12221 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
12223 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
12224 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
12225 You can hide further boring headers by setting
12226 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
12227 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
12228 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
12229 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
12232 These conditions are:
12235 Remove all empty headers.
12237 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
12238 @code{Newsgroups} header.
12240 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
12241 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
12244 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
12247 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
12248 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
12250 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
12251 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
12253 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
12254 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
12256 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
12259 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
12261 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
12264 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
12267 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
12268 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
12271 This is also the default value for this variable.
12275 @section Using MIME
12276 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12278 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
12279 while people stand around yawning.
12281 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
12282 while all newsreaders die of fear.
12284 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
12285 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
12286 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
12288 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
12289 @findex gnus-display-mime
12290 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
12291 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
12292 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
12293 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
12295 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
12296 @acronym{MIME} button:
12299 @findex gnus-article-press-button
12300 @item RET (Article)
12301 @kindex RET (Article)
12302 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
12303 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
12304 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
12305 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
12306 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
12307 object is displayed inline.
12309 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
12310 @item M-RET (Article)
12311 @kindex M-RET (Article)
12313 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
12314 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
12316 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
12318 @kindex t (Article)
12319 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
12320 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
12322 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
12324 @kindex C (Article)
12325 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
12326 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
12328 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
12330 @kindex o (Article)
12331 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
12332 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
12334 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
12335 @item C-o (Article)
12336 @kindex C-o (Article)
12337 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
12338 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
12339 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
12340 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
12341 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
12342 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
12344 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
12346 @kindex r (Article)
12347 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
12348 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
12349 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
12351 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
12353 @kindex d (Article)
12354 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
12355 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
12356 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
12358 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
12360 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
12362 @kindex c (Article)
12363 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
12364 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
12365 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
12366 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
12367 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
12368 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
12369 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
12370 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
12372 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
12374 @kindex p (Article)
12375 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
12376 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
12377 @file{.mailcap} file.
12379 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
12381 @kindex i (Article)
12382 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
12383 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
12384 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
12385 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
12386 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
12387 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
12388 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
12389 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
12390 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
12392 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
12394 @kindex E (Article)
12395 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
12396 viewer is available, use an external viewer
12397 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
12399 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
12401 @kindex e (Article)
12402 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
12403 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
12405 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
12407 @kindex | (Article)
12408 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
12410 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
12412 @kindex . (Article)
12413 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
12414 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
12418 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
12419 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
12420 @acronym{MIME} manual.
12422 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
12423 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
12424 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
12425 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
12426 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
12427 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
12428 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
12429 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
12430 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
12432 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
12434 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
12438 @section @acronym{HTML}
12439 @cindex @acronym{HTML}
12441 If you have @code{w3m} installed on your system, Gnus can display
12442 @acronym{HTML} articles in the article buffer. There are many Gnus
12443 add-ons for doing this, using various approaches, but there's one
12444 (sort of) built-in method that's used by default.
12446 For a complete overview, consult @xref{Display Customization,
12447 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. This
12448 section only describes the default method.
12451 @item mm-text-html-renderer
12452 @vindex mm-text-html-renderer
12453 If set to @code{gnus-article-html}, Gnus will use the built-in method,
12454 that's based on @code{curl} and @code{w3m}.
12456 @item gnus-blocked-images
12457 @vindex gnus-blocked-images
12458 Images that have @acronym{URL}s that match this regexp won't be
12459 fetched and displayed. For instance, do block all @acronym{URL}s that
12460 have the string ``ads'' in them, do the following:
12463 (setq gnus-blocked-images "ads")
12466 The default is to block all external images.
12468 @item gnus-html-cache-directory
12469 @vindex gnus-html-cache-directory
12470 Gnus will download and cache images according to how
12471 @code{gnus-blocked-images} is set. These images will be stored in
12474 @item gnus-html-cache-size
12475 @vindex gnus-html-cache-size
12476 When @code{gnus-html-cache-size} bytes have been used in that
12477 directory, the oldest files will be deleted. The default is 500MB.
12479 @item gnus-html-frame-width
12480 @vindex gnus-html-frame-width
12481 The width to use when rendering HTML. The default is 70.
12483 @item gnus-max-image-proportion
12484 @vindex gnus-max-image-proportion
12485 How big pictures displayed are in relation to the window they're in.
12486 A value of 0.7 (the default) means that they are allowed to take up
12487 70% of the width and height of the window. If they are larger than
12488 this, and Emacs supports it, then the images will be rescaled down to
12489 fit these criteria.
12493 To use this, make sure that you have @code{w3m} and @code{curl}
12494 installed. If you have, then Gnus should display @acronym{HTML}
12499 @node Customizing Articles
12500 @section Customizing Articles
12501 @cindex article customization
12503 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
12504 exist. You can call these functions interactively
12505 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
12506 called automatically when you select the articles.
12508 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
12509 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
12510 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
12511 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
12513 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
12514 for sensible values.
12518 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
12521 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
12524 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
12527 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
12530 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
12533 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
12537 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
12538 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
12539 regexps in the list.
12542 A list where the first element is not a string:
12544 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
12545 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
12546 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
12550 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
12555 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
12556 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
12557 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
12558 considered to contain just a single part.
12560 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
12561 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
12562 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
12563 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
12564 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
12565 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
12566 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
12569 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
12570 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
12572 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
12573 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
12574 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
12575 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
12576 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
12577 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
12578 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
12579 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
12580 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
12581 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
12582 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
12583 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
12584 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
12585 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
12586 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
12587 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
12588 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
12589 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
12590 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
12591 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
12592 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
12593 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
12594 @vindex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
12595 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
12596 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
12597 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
12598 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12599 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12600 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12601 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12602 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12603 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12604 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12605 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12606 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12607 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12608 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12609 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12610 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12611 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12612 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12613 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12614 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12615 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12616 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12617 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12618 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12621 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
12622 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
12623 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
12624 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
12627 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
12628 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
12630 @xref{Article Buttons}.
12632 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
12633 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
12634 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
12635 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
12636 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
12637 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
12638 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
12639 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
12640 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
12641 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
12643 @xref{Article Washing}.
12645 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
12646 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
12647 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
12648 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
12649 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
12650 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
12651 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
12653 @xref{Article Date}.
12655 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
12656 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
12657 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
12661 @item gnus-treat-from-gravatar (head)
12662 @item gnus-treat-mail-gravatar (head)
12666 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
12668 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
12670 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
12671 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
12672 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
12676 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
12677 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
12681 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12682 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
12686 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12687 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12688 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12689 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12690 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12691 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12692 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12693 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12694 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12695 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12696 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12697 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12698 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12699 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12700 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12701 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12702 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12703 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12704 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12705 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12707 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12709 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12710 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12711 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12712 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12713 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12714 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12716 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12718 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12719 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12720 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12721 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12722 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12724 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12725 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12726 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12727 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12728 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12729 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12730 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12731 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12733 @xref{Article Header}.
12738 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12739 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12740 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12741 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12742 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12746 @node Article Keymap
12747 @section Article Keymap
12749 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12750 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12751 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12752 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12755 @kindex v (Article)
12756 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12757 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12758 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12760 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12765 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12766 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12767 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12768 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12771 @kindex DEL (Article)
12772 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12773 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12774 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12777 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12778 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12779 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12780 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12781 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12784 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12785 @findex gnus-article-mail
12786 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12787 given a prefix, include the mail.
12790 @kindex s (Article)
12791 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12792 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12793 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12796 @kindex ? (Article)
12797 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12798 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12799 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12802 @kindex TAB (Article)
12803 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12804 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12805 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12808 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12809 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12810 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12813 @kindex R (Article)
12814 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12815 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12816 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12817 only yank the text in the region.
12820 @kindex S W (Article)
12821 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12822 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12823 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12824 active, only yank the text in the region.
12827 @kindex F (Article)
12828 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12829 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12830 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12831 only yank the text in the region.
12838 @section Misc Article
12842 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12843 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12844 @cindex article buffers, several
12845 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12846 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12849 @item gnus-widen-article-window
12850 @cindex gnus-widen-article-window
12851 If non-@code{nil}, selecting the article buffer with the @kbd{h}
12852 command will ``widen'' the article window to take the entire frame.
12854 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12855 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12856 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12857 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12858 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12860 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12861 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12862 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12863 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12864 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12865 the contents of the article buffer.
12867 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12868 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12869 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12871 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12872 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12873 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12874 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12876 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12877 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12878 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12879 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12881 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12882 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12883 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12884 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12885 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12886 with two extensions:
12891 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12892 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12893 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12898 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12901 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12904 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12905 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12906 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
12909 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12912 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12915 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12920 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12924 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12926 @item gnus-break-pages
12927 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12928 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12929 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12930 paging will not be done.
12932 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12933 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12934 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12938 @cindex internationalized domain names
12939 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12940 @item gnus-use-idna
12941 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12942 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12943 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12944 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12945 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12946 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12951 @node Composing Messages
12952 @chapter Composing Messages
12953 @cindex composing messages
12956 @cindex sending mail
12961 @cindex using s/mime
12962 @cindex using smime
12964 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12965 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12966 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12967 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12968 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12969 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12972 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12973 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12974 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12975 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12976 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12977 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12978 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12979 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12980 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12983 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12984 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12990 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12993 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12994 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12995 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12996 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12997 @code{nil} include all headers.
12999 @item gnus-add-to-list
13000 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
13001 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
13002 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
13004 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
13005 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
13006 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
13007 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
13008 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
13009 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
13010 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
13011 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
13013 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
13014 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
13016 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
13017 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
13018 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
13019 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
13020 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
13025 @node Posting Server
13026 @section Posting Server
13028 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
13029 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
13031 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
13033 It can be quite complicated.
13035 @vindex gnus-post-method
13036 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
13037 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
13038 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
13039 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
13040 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
13041 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
13042 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
13043 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
13044 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
13047 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
13050 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
13051 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
13052 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
13053 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
13055 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
13056 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
13058 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
13059 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
13062 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
13063 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
13065 @vindex message-send-mail-function
13066 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
13067 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
13068 value suitable for your system.
13069 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
13072 @node POP before SMTP
13073 @section POP before SMTP
13074 @cindex pop before smtp
13075 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
13076 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
13078 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
13079 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
13080 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
13081 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
13082 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13085 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
13086 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
13090 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
13091 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
13092 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
13093 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
13094 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
13095 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
13096 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
13097 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13099 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
13100 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
13101 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
13102 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
13103 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
13104 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
13107 (setq mail-source-primary-source
13108 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13109 :password "secret"))
13113 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
13114 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
13117 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
13119 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
13120 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13121 :password "secret")))
13122 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
13125 @node Mail and Post
13126 @section Mail and Post
13128 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
13132 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
13133 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
13134 @cindex mailing lists
13136 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
13137 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
13138 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
13139 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
13140 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
13141 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
13142 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
13143 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
13144 still a pain, though.
13146 @item gnus-user-agent
13147 @vindex gnus-user-agent
13150 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
13151 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
13152 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
13153 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
13154 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
13155 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
13156 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
13160 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
13161 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
13162 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
13165 @findex ispell-message
13167 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
13170 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
13171 you're in, you could say something like the following:
13174 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
13178 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
13179 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
13181 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
13184 Modify to suit your needs.
13186 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
13187 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
13188 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
13191 @node Archived Messages
13192 @section Archived Messages
13193 @cindex archived messages
13194 @cindex sent messages
13196 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
13197 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
13198 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
13199 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
13202 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
13203 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
13206 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
13207 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
13208 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
13209 actually being used it is expanded into:
13212 (nnfolder "archive"
13213 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
13214 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
13215 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
13216 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
13220 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
13221 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
13222 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
13223 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
13224 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
13225 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
13226 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
13227 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
13228 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
13229 saved method to reflect always the value of
13230 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
13231 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
13232 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
13235 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
13236 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
13237 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
13238 directory chosen, you could say something like:
13241 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
13242 '(nnfolder "archive"
13243 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
13244 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
13245 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
13248 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
13250 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
13251 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
13252 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
13254 This variable can be used to do the following:
13258 Messages will be saved in that group.
13260 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
13261 message will not be stored in the select method given by
13262 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
13263 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
13264 has the default value shown above. Then setting
13265 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
13266 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
13267 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
13270 @item a list of strings
13271 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
13273 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
13274 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
13277 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
13282 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
13284 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
13287 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
13289 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
13292 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
13294 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13295 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
13296 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
13297 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
13300 More complex stuff:
13302 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13303 '((if (message-news-p)
13308 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
13309 messages in one file per month:
13312 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
13313 '((if (message-news-p)
13315 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
13318 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
13319 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
13321 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
13322 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
13323 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
13324 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
13325 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
13326 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
13327 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
13328 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
13329 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
13330 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
13332 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
13333 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
13334 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
13335 this will disable archiving.
13338 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
13339 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
13340 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
13341 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
13342 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
13345 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
13346 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
13347 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
13350 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
13351 but the latter is the preferred method.
13353 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
13354 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
13355 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
13357 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
13358 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
13359 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
13360 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
13361 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
13362 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
13363 changed in the future.
13368 @node Posting Styles
13369 @section Posting Styles
13370 @cindex posting styles
13373 All them variables, they make my head swim.
13375 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
13376 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
13377 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
13380 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
13381 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
13382 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
13383 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
13384 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
13389 (signature "Peace and happiness")
13390 (organization "What me?"))
13392 (signature "Death to everybody"))
13393 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
13394 (organization "Emacs is it")))
13397 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
13398 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
13399 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
13400 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
13401 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
13402 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
13403 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
13404 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
13406 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
13407 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
13408 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
13409 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
13410 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
13411 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
13412 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
13413 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
13414 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
13415 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
13416 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
13417 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
13418 said to @dfn{match}.
13420 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
13421 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
13422 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
13423 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
13424 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
13425 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
13426 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
13427 name can be one of:
13430 @item @code{signature}
13431 @item @code{signature-file}
13432 @item @code{x-face-file}
13433 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
13434 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
13438 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
13439 @code{message-signature-directory}.
13441 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
13442 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
13443 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
13444 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
13445 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
13447 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
13448 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
13449 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
13450 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
13451 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
13452 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
13453 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
13454 references chars lines xref extra.
13456 @vindex message-reply-headers
13458 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
13459 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
13460 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
13462 @findex message-mail-p
13463 @findex message-news-p
13465 So here's a new example:
13468 (setq gnus-posting-styles
13470 (signature-file "~/.signature")
13472 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
13473 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
13474 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
13476 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
13477 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
13478 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
13479 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
13480 (signature my-news-signature))
13481 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
13482 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
13483 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
13484 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
13485 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
13486 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
13487 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
13488 (address "user@@bar.foo")
13489 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
13490 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
13492 (From (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
13493 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
13495 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
13498 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
13499 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
13500 if you fill many roles.
13501 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
13502 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
13508 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
13509 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
13510 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
13511 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
13512 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
13514 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
13515 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
13516 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
13517 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
13518 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
13522 @vindex nndraft-directory
13523 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
13524 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
13525 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
13526 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
13527 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
13528 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
13530 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
13531 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
13532 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
13533 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
13534 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
13535 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
13536 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
13537 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
13538 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
13540 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
13541 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
13542 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
13543 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
13544 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
13545 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
13546 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
13547 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
13548 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
13549 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
13550 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
13551 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
13552 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
13553 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
13555 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
13556 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
13557 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
13559 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
13560 @kindex D e (Draft)
13561 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
13562 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
13563 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
13565 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
13568 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
13569 @kindex D s (Draft)
13570 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
13571 @kindex D S (Draft)
13572 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
13573 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
13574 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
13575 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
13576 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
13579 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
13580 @kindex D t (Draft)
13581 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
13582 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
13583 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
13585 Finally, if you want to delete a draft, use the normal @kbd{B DEL}
13586 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13589 @node Rejected Articles
13590 @section Rejected Articles
13591 @cindex rejected articles
13593 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
13594 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
13595 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
13596 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
13598 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
13599 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
13600 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
13601 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
13602 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
13604 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
13605 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
13606 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
13608 @node Signing and encrypting
13609 @section Signing and encrypting
13611 @cindex using s/mime
13612 @cindex using smime
13614 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
13615 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
13616 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
13617 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
13619 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
13620 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
13621 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
13622 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
13623 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
13624 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
13625 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
13626 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
13627 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
13628 automatically encrypted messages.
13630 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
13631 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
13632 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
13637 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
13638 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
13640 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13643 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
13644 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13646 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13649 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
13650 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
13652 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13655 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
13656 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
13658 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
13661 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
13662 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
13664 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
13667 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
13668 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
13670 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
13673 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
13674 @findex mml-unsecure-message
13675 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
13679 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
13681 @node Select Methods
13682 @chapter Select Methods
13683 @cindex foreign groups
13684 @cindex select methods
13686 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
13687 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
13688 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
13689 personal mail group.
13691 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
13692 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
13693 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
13694 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
13695 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13696 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13698 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13699 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13701 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13704 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13705 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13706 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13707 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13708 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13710 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13713 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13714 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13715 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
13716 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13717 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13718 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
13719 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13720 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13721 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13725 @node Server Buffer
13726 @section Server Buffer
13728 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13729 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13730 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13731 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13732 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13733 back end represents a virtual server.
13735 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13736 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13737 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13738 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13740 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13741 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13742 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13743 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13744 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13745 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13746 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13748 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13749 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13752 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13753 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13754 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13755 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13756 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13757 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13758 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13761 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13762 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13765 @node Server Buffer Format
13766 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13767 @cindex server buffer format
13769 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13770 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13771 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13772 variable, with some simple extensions:
13777 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13780 The name of this server.
13783 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13786 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13789 Whether this server is agentized.
13792 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13793 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13794 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13795 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13805 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13808 @node Server Commands
13809 @subsection Server Commands
13810 @cindex server commands
13816 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13817 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13818 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13822 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13823 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13827 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13828 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13831 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13832 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13833 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13837 @findex gnus-server-exit
13838 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13842 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13843 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13847 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13848 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13852 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13853 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13857 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13858 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13862 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13863 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13864 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13869 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13870 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13871 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13872 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13876 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13878 Compact all groups in the server under point
13879 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13880 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13881 hence getting a correct total article count.
13886 @node Example Methods
13887 @subsection Example Methods
13889 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13892 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13895 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13901 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13902 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13905 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13906 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13908 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13909 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13913 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13916 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13917 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13919 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13920 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13921 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13925 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13928 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13931 Here's the method for a public spool:
13935 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13936 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13942 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13943 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13944 on the firewall machine and connect with
13945 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13946 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13947 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13948 should probably look something like this:
13952 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13953 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13954 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13957 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13958 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13959 configuration to the example above:
13962 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13965 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13966 an indirect connection:
13969 (setq gnus-select-method
13971 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13972 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13973 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13974 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13975 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13976 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13979 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13980 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13982 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13983 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13984 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13988 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13989 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13990 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13994 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13995 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13997 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13998 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
14000 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
14001 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
14002 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
14004 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
14006 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
14007 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
14008 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
14009 will contain the following:
14019 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
14020 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
14023 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
14024 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
14025 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
14028 @node Server Variables
14029 @subsection Server Variables
14030 @cindex server variables
14031 @cindex server parameters
14033 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
14034 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
14035 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
14036 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
14037 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
14039 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
14040 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
14041 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
14042 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
14043 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
14044 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
14045 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
14046 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
14047 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
14051 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
14052 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
14053 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
14056 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
14058 @node Servers and Methods
14059 @subsection Servers and Methods
14061 Wherever you would normally use a select method
14062 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
14063 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
14064 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
14068 @node Unavailable Servers
14069 @subsection Unavailable Servers
14071 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
14072 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
14073 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
14074 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
14075 actually the case or not.
14077 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
14078 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
14079 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
14080 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
14081 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
14082 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
14083 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
14084 it will regard that server as ``down''.
14086 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
14087 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
14089 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
14090 with the following commands:
14096 @findex gnus-server-open-server
14097 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
14098 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
14102 @findex gnus-server-close-server
14103 Close the connection (if any) to the server
14104 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
14108 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
14109 Mark the current server as unreachable
14110 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
14113 @kindex M-o (Server)
14114 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
14115 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
14116 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
14119 @kindex M-c (Server)
14120 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
14121 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
14122 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
14126 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
14127 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
14128 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
14132 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
14133 Copy a server and give it a new name
14134 (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}). This can be useful if you have a
14135 complex method definition, and want to use the same definition towards
14136 a different (physical) server.
14140 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
14141 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
14147 @section Getting News
14148 @cindex reading news
14149 @cindex news back ends
14151 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
14152 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
14153 or it can read from a local spool.
14156 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
14157 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
14165 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
14166 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
14167 server as the, uhm, address.
14169 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
14170 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
14171 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
14172 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14174 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
14175 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
14176 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
14178 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
14183 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
14184 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
14185 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
14187 @cindex authentication
14188 @cindex nntp authentication
14189 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
14190 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
14191 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
14192 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
14193 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
14194 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
14195 present in this hook.
14197 @item nntp-authinfo-function
14198 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
14199 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
14200 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
14201 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
14202 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
14203 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
14204 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
14205 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
14206 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
14207 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
14208 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
14212 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
14215 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
14217 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
14218 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
14219 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
14220 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
14221 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
14222 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
14223 @samp{force} is explained below.
14227 Here's an example file:
14230 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
14231 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
14234 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
14235 have to be first, for instance.
14237 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
14238 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
14239 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
14240 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
14241 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
14242 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
14243 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
14245 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
14246 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
14252 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
14253 previously mentioned.
14255 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
14257 @item nntp-server-action-alist
14258 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
14259 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
14260 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
14261 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
14264 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
14265 '(("innd" (ding))))
14268 You probably don't want to do that, though.
14270 The default value is
14273 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
14274 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
14275 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
14278 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
14279 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
14281 @item nntp-maximum-request
14282 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
14283 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
14284 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
14285 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
14286 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
14287 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
14288 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
14290 @item nntp-connection-timeout
14291 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
14292 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
14293 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
14294 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
14295 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
14296 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
14297 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
14298 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
14299 no timeouts are done.
14301 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
14302 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
14303 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
14304 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
14307 @item nntp-xover-commands
14308 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
14309 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
14311 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
14312 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
14316 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
14317 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
14318 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
14319 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
14320 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
14321 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
14322 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
14323 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
14324 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
14325 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
14326 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
14328 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
14329 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
14330 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
14331 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
14332 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
14333 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
14334 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
14335 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
14336 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
14337 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
14338 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
14339 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
14340 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
14341 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
14342 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
14343 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
14344 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
14347 (setq gnus-select-method
14349 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
14350 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
14354 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
14356 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
14357 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
14358 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
14360 @item nntp-record-commands
14361 @vindex nntp-record-commands
14362 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
14363 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
14364 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
14365 that doesn't seem to work.
14367 @item nntp-open-connection-function
14368 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
14369 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
14370 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
14371 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
14372 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
14373 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
14374 indirect ones (three pre-made).
14376 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
14377 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
14378 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
14379 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
14380 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
14381 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
14382 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
14383 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
14384 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
14386 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
14387 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
14388 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
14389 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
14390 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
14391 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
14392 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
14394 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
14395 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
14396 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
14397 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
14398 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
14399 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
14400 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
14403 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
14406 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
14407 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
14409 @item nntp-server-list-active-group
14410 If @code{nil}, then always use @samp{GROUP} instead of @samp{LIST
14411 ACTIVE}. This is usually slower, but on misconfigured servers that
14412 don't update their active files often, this can help.
14418 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
14419 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
14420 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
14421 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
14425 @node Direct Functions
14426 @subsubsection Direct Functions
14427 @cindex direct connection functions
14429 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
14430 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
14431 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
14432 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14435 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
14436 @item nntp-open-network-stream
14437 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
14440 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
14441 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
14442 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
14443 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
14444 installed. You then define a server as follows:
14447 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
14448 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
14450 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
14451 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
14452 (nntp-port-number 563)
14453 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
14456 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
14457 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
14458 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
14459 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
14460 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
14461 then define a server as follows:
14464 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
14465 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
14467 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
14468 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
14469 (nntp-port-number 563)
14470 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
14473 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
14474 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
14475 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
14476 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
14477 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
14478 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
14479 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
14480 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
14484 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
14485 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
14486 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
14489 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
14490 session, which is not a good idea.
14492 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
14493 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
14494 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
14495 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
14496 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
14497 not available. The previous example would turn into:
14501 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
14502 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
14503 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
14504 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
14509 @node Indirect Functions
14510 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
14511 @cindex indirect connection functions
14513 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
14514 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14515 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
14516 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
14517 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
14518 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14521 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
14522 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
14523 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
14524 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
14525 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
14527 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
14530 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
14531 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
14532 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
14533 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
14535 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14536 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14537 List of strings to be used as the switches to
14538 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
14539 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
14540 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
14543 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
14544 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
14545 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
14546 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
14547 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
14548 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
14550 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
14553 @item nntp-telnet-command
14554 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
14555 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
14556 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
14558 @item nntp-telnet-switches
14559 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
14560 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
14561 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
14563 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
14564 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
14565 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
14566 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
14568 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14569 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
14570 List of strings to be used as the switches to
14571 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
14572 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
14573 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
14574 host. The default is @code{nil}.
14577 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
14578 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14580 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
14581 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
14582 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
14583 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
14585 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
14588 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
14589 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
14590 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
14593 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
14594 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
14595 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
14596 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
14598 @item nntp-via-user-password
14599 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
14600 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
14602 @item nntp-via-envuser
14603 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
14604 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
14605 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
14606 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
14608 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
14609 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
14610 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
14611 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
14615 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
14616 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
14620 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
14625 @item nntp-via-user-name
14626 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
14627 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
14629 @item nntp-via-address
14630 @vindex nntp-via-address
14631 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
14636 @node Common Variables
14637 @subsubsection Common Variables
14639 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
14640 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
14641 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
14642 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
14643 variables individually).
14647 @item nntp-pre-command
14648 @vindex nntp-pre-command
14649 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
14650 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
14651 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
14652 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
14655 @vindex nntp-address
14656 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
14658 @item nntp-port-number
14659 @vindex nntp-port-number
14660 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14661 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
14662 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
14663 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
14664 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
14665 not work with named ports.
14667 @item nntp-end-of-line
14668 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
14669 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
14670 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
14671 using a non native telnet connection function.
14673 @item nntp-netcat-command
14674 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
14675 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
14676 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
14677 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14680 @item nntp-netcat-switches
14681 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
14682 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14688 @subsubsection NNTP marks
14689 @cindex storing NNTP marks
14691 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
14692 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
14693 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
14694 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
14695 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
14696 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
14697 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
14698 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
14700 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
14701 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
14702 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
14703 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
14704 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14706 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
14707 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
14708 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
14709 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
14710 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
14711 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
14712 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
14714 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
14715 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
14716 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14722 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
14723 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
14724 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
14725 default is @code{nil}.
14727 @item nntp-marks-directory
14728 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
14729 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
14735 @subsection News Spool
14739 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14740 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14741 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14744 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14745 anything else) as the address.
14747 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14748 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14749 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14750 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14754 @item nnspool-inews-program
14755 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14756 Program used to post an article.
14758 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14759 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14760 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14762 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14763 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14764 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14765 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14767 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14768 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14769 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14770 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14772 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14773 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14774 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14776 @item nnspool-active-file
14777 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14778 The name of the active file.
14780 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14781 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14782 The name of the group descriptions file.
14784 @item nnspool-history-file
14785 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14786 The name of the news history file.
14788 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14789 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14790 The name of the active date file.
14792 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14793 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14794 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14797 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14798 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14800 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14801 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14802 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14809 @section Using IMAP
14812 The most popular mail backend is probably @code{nnimap}, which
14813 provides access to @acronym{IMAP} servers. @acronym{IMAP} servers
14814 store mail remotely, so the client doesn't store anything locally.
14815 This means that it's a convenient choice when you're reading your mail
14816 from different locations, or with different user agents.
14819 * Connecting to an IMAP Server:: Getting started with @acronym{IMAP}.
14820 * Customizing the IMAP Connection:: Variables for @acronym{IMAP} connection.
14821 * Client-Side IMAP Splitting:: Put mail in the correct mail box.
14825 @node Connecting to an IMAP Server
14826 @subsection Connecting to an IMAP Server
14828 Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} can be very easy. Type @kbd{B} in the
14829 group buffer, or (if your primary interest is reading email), say
14833 (setq gnus-select-method
14834 '(nnimap "imap.gmail.com"))
14837 You'll be prompted for a user name and password. If you grow tired of
14838 that, then add the following to your @file{~/.authinfo} file:
14841 machine imap.gmail.com login <username> password <password> port imap
14844 That should basically be it for most users.
14847 @node Customizing the IMAP Connection
14848 @subsection Customizing the IMAP Connection
14850 Here's an example method that's more complex:
14853 (nnimap "imap.gmail.com"
14854 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14855 (nnimap-split-methods default)
14857 (nnimap-stream ssl)
14858 (nnir-search-engine imap)
14859 (nnimap-expunge-inbox t))
14863 @item nnimap-address
14864 The address of the server, like @samp{imap.gmail.com}.
14866 @item nnimap-server-port
14867 If the server uses a non-standard port, that can be specified here. A
14868 typical port would be @samp{imap} or @samp{imaps}.
14870 @item nnimap-stream
14871 How @code{nnimap} should connect to the server. Possible values are:
14875 This is the default, and this uses standard
14876 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connection.
14879 Non-encrypted and unsafe straight socket connection.
14882 Encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} over the normal @acronym{IMAP} port.
14885 If you need to tunnel via other systems to connect to the server, you
14886 can use this option, and customize @code{nnimap-shell-program} to be
14891 @item nnimap-authenticator
14892 Some @acronym{IMAP} servers allow anonymous logins. In that case,
14893 this should be set to @code{anonymous}.
14895 @item nnimap-streaming
14896 Virtually all @code{IMAP} server support fast streaming of data. If
14897 you have problems connecting to the server, try setting this to @code{nil}.
14899 @item nnimap-fetch-partial-articles
14900 If non-@code{nil}, fetch partial articles from the server. If set to
14901 a string, then it's interpreted as a regexp, and parts that have
14902 matching types will be fetched. For instance, @samp{"text/"} will
14903 fetch all textual parts, while leaving the rest on the server.
14908 @node Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14909 @subsection Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14911 Many people prefer to do the sorting/splitting of mail into their mail
14912 boxes on the @acronym{IMAP} server. That way they don't have to
14913 download the mail they're not all that interested in.
14915 If you do want to do client-side mail splitting, then the following
14916 variables are relevant:
14920 This is the @acronym{IMAP} mail box that will be scanned for new mail.
14922 @item nnimap-split-methods
14923 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-methods} (@pxref{Splitting
14924 Mail}), except the symbol @code{default}, which means that it should
14925 use the value of the @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable.
14927 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14928 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14934 @section Getting Mail
14935 @cindex reading mail
14938 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
14942 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14943 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14944 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14945 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14946 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14947 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14948 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14949 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14950 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14951 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14952 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14953 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14954 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14958 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14959 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14961 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14962 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14963 of a culture shock.
14965 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14966 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14968 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14969 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14970 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14971 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14973 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14975 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14976 deleted? How awful!
14978 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14979 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14980 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14981 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14984 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14985 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14986 they want to treat a message.
14988 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14989 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14990 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14991 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14992 archived somewhere else.
14994 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14995 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14996 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14997 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14998 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
15000 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
15001 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
15002 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
15004 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
15005 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
15008 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
15009 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
15010 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
15011 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
15012 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
15014 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
15015 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
15016 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
15017 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
15018 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
15019 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
15023 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
15024 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
15026 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
15027 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
15028 and things will happen automatically.
15030 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
15031 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15034 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15037 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
15038 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
15039 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
15040 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
15041 like any other group.
15043 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
15046 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15047 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15048 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
15052 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
15053 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
15054 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
15057 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
15058 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
15059 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
15062 @node Splitting Mail
15063 @subsection Splitting Mail
15064 @cindex splitting mail
15065 @cindex mail splitting
15066 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
15068 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
15069 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
15070 to be split into groups.
15073 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15074 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15075 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
15076 ("mail.other" "")))
15079 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
15080 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
15081 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
15082 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
15083 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
15084 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
15085 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
15088 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
15092 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
15093 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15095 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15096 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
15097 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
15098 mail belongs in that group.
15100 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
15101 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
15102 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
15103 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
15104 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
15105 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
15106 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
15107 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
15108 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
15109 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
15111 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
15112 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
15113 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
15114 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
15115 thinks should carry this mail message.
15117 This variable can also be a fancy split method. For the syntax,
15118 see @ref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15120 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
15121 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
15122 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
15123 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
15125 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
15126 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
15127 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
15128 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
15129 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
15131 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
15134 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
15135 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
15136 links. If that's the case for you, set
15137 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
15138 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
15140 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
15141 @findex nnmail-split-history
15142 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
15143 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
15144 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
15145 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
15148 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
15149 Header lines longer than the value of
15150 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
15153 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
15154 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
15155 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
15156 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
15157 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
15158 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
15159 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
15160 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
15161 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
15162 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
15163 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
15164 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
15166 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
15167 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
15168 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
15169 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
15170 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
15171 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
15172 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
15173 other kinds of entries.)
15175 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
15176 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
15177 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
15178 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
15179 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
15180 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
15181 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
15182 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
15183 month's rent money.
15187 @subsection Mail Sources
15189 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
15190 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
15191 maildir, for instance.
15194 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
15195 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
15196 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
15200 @node Mail Source Specifiers
15201 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
15203 @cindex mail server
15206 @cindex mail source
15208 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
15209 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
15214 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
15217 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
15218 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
15219 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
15222 The @code{mail-sources} is global for all mail groups. You can specify
15223 an additional mail source for a particular group by including the
15224 @code{group} mail specifier in @code{mail-sources}, and setting a
15225 @code{mail-source} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) specifying
15226 a single mail source. When this is used, @code{mail-sources} is
15227 typically just @code{(group)}; the @code{mail-source} parameter for a
15228 group might look like this:
15231 (mail-source . (file :path "home/user/spools/foo.spool"))
15234 This means that the group's (and only this group's) messages will be
15235 fetched from the spool file @samp{/user/spools/foo.spool}.
15237 The following mail source types are available:
15241 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
15247 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
15248 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
15249 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
15253 Script run before/after fetching mail.
15256 An example file mail source:
15259 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
15262 Or using the default file name:
15268 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
15269 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
15270 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
15271 mail spool while moving the mail.
15273 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
15277 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
15280 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
15284 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
15287 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
15289 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
15292 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
15293 file you want to use.
15297 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
15298 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
15299 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
15300 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
15301 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
15302 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
15303 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
15304 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
15305 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
15306 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
15308 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
15309 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
15310 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
15311 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
15317 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
15321 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
15325 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
15326 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
15327 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
15328 predicate are considered.
15332 Script run before/after fetching mail.
15336 An example directory mail source:
15339 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
15344 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
15350 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
15351 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
15354 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
15355 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
15356 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
15357 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
15358 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
15361 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
15365 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
15366 the user is prompted.
15369 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
15370 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
15373 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
15376 The valid format specifier characters are:
15380 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
15381 included in this string.
15384 The name of the server.
15387 The port number of the server.
15390 The user name to use.
15393 The password to use.
15396 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
15397 corresponding keywords.
15400 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
15401 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
15404 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
15405 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
15408 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
15409 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
15410 mail should be moved to.
15412 @item :authentication
15413 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
15414 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
15419 @vindex pop3-movemail
15420 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
15421 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
15422 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
15423 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
15424 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
15425 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
15426 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
15427 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
15428 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
15430 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
15431 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
15432 name, and default fetcher:
15438 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
15441 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
15442 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
15445 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
15448 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
15452 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
15453 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
15454 contains exactly one mail.
15460 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
15461 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
15464 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
15465 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
15467 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
15468 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
15469 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
15472 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
15473 from locking problems).
15477 Two example maildir mail sources:
15480 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
15481 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
15485 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
15490 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
15491 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
15492 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
15493 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
15494 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{Using IMAP}, for more information.
15500 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
15501 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
15504 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
15505 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
15508 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
15512 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
15516 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
15517 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
15518 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
15519 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
15521 @item :authentication
15522 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
15523 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
15524 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
15525 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
15528 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
15529 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
15530 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
15536 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
15537 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
15538 specifier characters are:
15542 The name of the server.
15545 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
15548 The port number of the server.
15551 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
15552 corresponding keywords.
15555 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
15556 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
15559 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
15560 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
15561 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
15562 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
15563 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
15564 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
15567 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
15568 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
15569 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
15570 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
15573 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
15574 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
15578 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
15581 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
15583 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
15587 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
15588 @xref{Group Parameters}.
15593 @item Common Keywords
15594 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
15600 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
15601 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
15606 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
15611 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
15612 useful when you use local mail and news.
15617 @subsubsection Function Interface
15619 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
15620 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
15621 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
15622 consider the following mail-source setting:
15625 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
15626 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
15629 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
15630 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
15631 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
15632 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
15633 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
15635 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
15638 @node Mail Source Customization
15639 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
15641 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
15642 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
15646 @item mail-source-crash-box
15647 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
15648 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
15649 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
15652 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
15653 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
15654 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
15655 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
15656 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
15657 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15658 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15659 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15660 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15661 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15663 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15664 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15665 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15666 files. This variable only applies when
15667 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15669 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15670 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15671 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15673 @item mail-source-directory
15674 @vindex mail-source-directory
15675 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15676 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15677 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15678 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15680 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15681 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15682 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15683 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15684 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15685 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15688 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15689 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15690 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
15692 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15693 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15694 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15695 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15700 @node Fetching Mail
15701 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15703 @vindex mail-sources
15704 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15705 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15706 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15708 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15709 fetch mail by themselves.
15711 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15712 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15717 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15718 :password "secret")))
15721 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15725 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15726 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15729 :password "secret")))
15733 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15734 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15735 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15736 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15737 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15738 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15742 @node Mail Back End Variables
15743 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15745 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15749 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15750 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15751 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15752 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15754 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15755 @item nnmail-split-hook
15756 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15757 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15758 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15759 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15760 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15761 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15762 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15763 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15764 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15767 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15768 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15769 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15770 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15771 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15772 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15773 starting to handle the new mail) and
15774 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15775 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15776 default file modes the new mail files get:
15779 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15780 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
15782 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15783 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
15786 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15787 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15788 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15789 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15790 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15791 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15792 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15794 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15795 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15796 @findex delete-file
15797 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15799 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15800 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15801 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15802 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15803 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15805 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15806 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15807 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15808 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15809 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15811 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15812 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15813 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15818 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15819 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15820 @cindex mail splitting
15821 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15823 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15824 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15825 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15826 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15827 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15828 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15830 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15833 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15834 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15835 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15836 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15838 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15839 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15840 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15841 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15842 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15843 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15844 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15845 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15846 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15847 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15848 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15849 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15850 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15851 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15852 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15853 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15854 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15858 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15859 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15860 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15865 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15866 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15868 @c Don't fold this line.
15869 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15870 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15871 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15872 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15875 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15876 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15877 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15878 @var{split} is processed.
15880 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15881 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15882 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15883 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15885 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15886 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15887 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15888 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15889 stored in one or more groups.
15891 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15892 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15893 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15896 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15897 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15899 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15900 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15901 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15902 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15905 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15906 body of the messages:
15909 (defun split-on-body ()
15913 (goto-char (point-min))
15914 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15918 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15919 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15920 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15921 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15922 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15923 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15924 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
15926 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15927 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15928 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15929 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15930 should return a split.
15933 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15937 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15939 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15940 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15941 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15942 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15946 (any "joe" "joemail")
15950 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15951 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15952 of the following three ways:
15956 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15957 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15958 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15959 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15960 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15963 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15966 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15967 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15968 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15969 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15970 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15973 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15974 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15975 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15976 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15977 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15978 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15979 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15982 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15983 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15984 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15985 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15986 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15987 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15988 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
15992 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
15994 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
15995 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
15997 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
16000 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
16001 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
16002 when all this splitting is performed.
16004 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
16005 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
16006 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
16009 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
16012 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
16013 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
16015 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
16016 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
16017 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
16018 groupings 1 through 9.
16020 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
16021 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
16022 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
16023 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
16024 groups when users send to an address using different case
16025 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
16028 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
16029 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
16030 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
16031 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
16032 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
16033 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
16034 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
16035 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
16036 it once per thread.
16038 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
16039 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
16040 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
16041 using the colon feature, like so:
16043 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
16044 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
16046 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
16047 ;; @r{other splits go here}
16051 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
16052 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
16053 in the file specified by the variable
16054 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
16055 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
16056 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
16057 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
16058 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
16059 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
16060 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
16061 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
16062 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
16063 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
16064 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
16065 300 kBytes in size.)
16066 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
16067 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
16068 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
16069 messages goes into the new group.
16071 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
16072 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
16073 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
16074 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
16075 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
16076 ``outgoing'' group.
16079 @node Group Mail Splitting
16080 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
16081 @cindex mail splitting
16082 @cindex group mail splitting
16084 @findex gnus-group-split
16085 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
16086 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
16087 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
16088 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
16089 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
16090 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
16091 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
16092 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
16094 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
16095 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
16096 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
16097 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
16099 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
16100 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
16101 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
16102 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
16103 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
16104 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
16105 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
16107 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
16108 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
16109 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
16110 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
16111 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
16112 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
16113 @code{gnus-group-split}.
16115 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
16116 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
16117 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
16118 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
16119 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
16120 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
16121 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
16122 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
16123 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
16124 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
16125 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
16126 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
16127 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
16129 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
16134 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
16135 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
16137 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
16138 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
16139 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
16140 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
16142 ((split-spec . catch-all))
16145 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
16146 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
16147 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
16150 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
16151 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
16152 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
16156 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
16157 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
16158 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
16162 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
16165 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
16166 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
16167 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
16168 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
16169 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
16170 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
16171 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
16172 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
16173 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
16175 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
16176 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
16177 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
16178 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
16179 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
16180 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
16181 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
16182 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
16183 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
16185 @findex gnus-group-split-update
16186 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
16187 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
16188 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
16189 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
16190 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
16193 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
16196 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
16197 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
16198 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
16199 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
16200 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
16203 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
16204 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
16205 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
16206 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
16208 @node Incorporating Old Mail
16209 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
16210 @cindex incorporating old mail
16211 @cindex import old mail
16213 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
16214 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
16215 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
16218 Doing so can be quite easy.
16220 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
16221 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
16222 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
16223 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
16224 your @code{nnml} groups.
16230 Go to the group buffer.
16233 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
16234 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16237 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
16240 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
16241 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16244 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
16245 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
16248 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
16249 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
16250 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
16251 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
16252 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
16254 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
16255 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
16256 using the new mail back end.
16259 @node Expiring Mail
16260 @subsection Expiring Mail
16261 @cindex article expiry
16262 @cindex expiring mail
16264 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
16265 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
16266 different approach to mail reading.
16268 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
16269 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
16270 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
16271 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
16272 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
16273 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
16276 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
16277 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
16278 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
16279 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
16280 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
16281 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
16282 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
16283 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
16284 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
16286 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
16287 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
16288 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
16289 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
16290 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
16291 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
16292 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
16295 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
16296 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
16297 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
16298 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
16299 into its own group.)
16301 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
16302 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
16303 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
16304 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
16305 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
16306 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
16307 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
16308 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
16311 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
16312 Groups that match the regular expression
16313 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
16314 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
16315 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
16317 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
16318 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
16319 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
16320 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
16321 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16323 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
16325 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
16326 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
16327 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
16330 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
16331 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
16332 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
16333 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
16334 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
16336 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
16337 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
16340 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
16341 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
16344 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
16345 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
16347 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
16348 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
16349 don't really mix very well.
16351 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
16352 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
16353 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
16354 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
16357 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
16358 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
16359 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
16360 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
16363 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16365 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16367 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
16369 ((string= group "mail.junk")
16371 ((string= group "important")
16377 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
16378 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
16380 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
16381 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
16382 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
16385 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
16386 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16388 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
16389 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
16390 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
16391 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
16392 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
16393 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
16394 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
16395 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
16396 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
16397 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
16398 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
16399 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
16400 name or @code{delete}.
16402 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
16404 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
16407 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
16408 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
16409 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
16410 expire mail to groups according to the variable
16411 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
16414 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
16415 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
16416 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
16417 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
16418 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
16421 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
16422 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
16423 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
16424 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
16425 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
16426 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
16428 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
16429 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
16430 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
16431 easier for procmail users.
16433 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
16434 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
16435 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
16436 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
16437 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
16438 caution. Even more dangerous is the
16439 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
16440 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
16441 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
16442 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
16443 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
16444 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
16445 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
16448 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
16450 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
16451 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
16452 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
16453 auto-expire turned on.
16455 @vindex gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable
16456 The expirable marks of articles will be removed when copying or moving
16457 them to a group in which auto-expire is not turned on. This is for
16458 preventing articles from being expired unintentionally. On the other
16459 hand, to a group that has turned auto-expire on, the expirable marks of
16460 articles that are copied or moved will not be changed by default. I.e.,
16461 when copying or moving to such a group, articles that were expirable
16462 will be left expirable and ones that were not expirable will not be
16463 marked as expirable. So, even though in auto-expire groups, some
16464 articles will never get expired (unless you read them again). If you
16465 don't side with that behavior that unexpirable articles may be mixed
16466 into auto-expire groups, you can set
16467 @code{gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable} to a
16468 non-@code{nil} value. In that case, articles that have been read will
16469 be marked as expirable automatically when being copied or moved to a
16470 group that has auto-expire turned on. The default value is @code{nil}.
16474 @subsection Washing Mail
16475 @cindex mail washing
16476 @cindex list server brain damage
16477 @cindex incoming mail treatment
16479 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
16480 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
16481 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
16482 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
16483 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
16484 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
16486 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
16487 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
16488 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
16491 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
16492 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
16493 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
16494 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
16497 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
16498 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
16499 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
16500 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
16501 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
16504 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
16505 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
16506 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
16507 Emacs running on MS machines.
16511 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
16512 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
16513 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
16514 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
16517 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
16518 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
16519 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
16520 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
16522 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
16523 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
16524 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
16525 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
16526 into a feature by documenting it.)
16528 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
16529 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
16530 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
16531 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
16532 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
16533 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
16534 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
16537 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
16538 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
16541 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
16542 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
16545 This can also be done non-destructively with
16546 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
16548 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
16549 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
16550 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
16552 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
16553 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
16554 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
16557 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
16558 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
16559 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
16560 contain a line matching the regular expression
16561 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
16565 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
16566 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
16567 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
16571 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
16572 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
16573 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
16580 @subsection Duplicates
16582 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
16583 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
16584 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
16585 @cindex duplicate mails
16586 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
16587 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
16588 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
16589 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
16590 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
16591 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
16592 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
16593 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
16594 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
16595 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
16596 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
16597 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
16598 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
16600 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
16601 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
16602 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
16603 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
16605 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
16608 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
16609 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
16613 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
16614 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
16615 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
16616 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
16617 (any mail "mail.misc")
16618 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16624 (setq nnmail-split-methods
16625 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
16626 ;; @r{Other rules.}
16630 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
16631 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
16632 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
16633 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
16634 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
16637 @node Not Reading Mail
16638 @subsection Not Reading Mail
16640 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
16641 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
16642 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
16644 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
16645 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
16646 mail, which should help.
16648 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16649 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16650 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16651 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16652 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16653 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
16654 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
16655 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
16656 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
16657 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16658 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16660 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16661 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16665 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16666 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16668 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16669 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16670 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16672 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16673 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16674 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16678 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16679 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16680 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16681 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16682 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16683 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16684 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16689 @node Unix Mail Box
16690 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16692 @cindex unix mail box
16694 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16695 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16696 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16697 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16698 which group it belongs in.
16700 Virtual server settings:
16703 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16704 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16705 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16708 @item nnmbox-active-file
16709 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16710 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16711 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16713 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16714 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16715 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16716 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16721 @subsubsection Babyl
16724 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16725 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16726 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16727 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16728 group it belongs in.
16730 Virtual server settings:
16733 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16734 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16735 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16737 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16738 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16739 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16740 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16742 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16743 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16744 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16750 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16752 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16754 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16755 format. It should be used with some caution.
16757 @vindex nnml-directory
16758 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16759 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16760 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16761 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16763 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16766 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16767 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16768 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16769 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16770 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16771 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16772 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16773 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16775 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16776 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16777 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16778 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16780 @cindex self contained nnml servers
16782 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
16783 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16784 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16785 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
16786 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
16787 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
16788 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
16789 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
16792 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
16793 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
16794 them next time it starts.
16796 Virtual server settings:
16799 @item nnml-directory
16800 @vindex nnml-directory
16801 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16802 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16805 @item nnml-active-file
16806 @vindex nnml-active-file
16807 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16808 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16810 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16811 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16812 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16813 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16815 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16816 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16817 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16820 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16821 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16822 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16823 default is @code{nil}.
16825 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16826 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16827 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16829 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16830 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16831 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16833 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
16834 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
16835 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16836 default is @code{nil}.
16838 @item nnml-marks-file-name
16839 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
16840 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
16842 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16843 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16844 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16845 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16846 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16847 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16848 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16849 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16850 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16852 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16853 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16854 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16855 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16856 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16860 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16861 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16862 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16863 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16864 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16865 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16866 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16871 @subsubsection MH Spool
16873 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16875 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16876 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16877 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16878 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16881 Virtual server settings:
16884 @item nnmh-directory
16885 @vindex nnmh-directory
16886 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16887 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16890 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16891 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16892 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16896 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16897 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16898 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16899 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16900 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16901 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16902 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16907 @subsubsection Maildir
16911 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16912 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16913 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16914 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16915 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16918 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16919 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16920 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16921 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16922 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16923 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16924 that appear as group in Gnus.
16926 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16927 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16928 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16930 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16931 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16932 another, and you will keep your marks.
16934 Virtual server settings:
16938 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16939 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16940 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16941 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16942 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16943 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16944 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16945 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16946 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16947 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16949 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16950 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16951 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16952 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16953 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16954 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16955 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16956 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16957 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16958 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16961 @item target-prefix
16962 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16963 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16964 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16967 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16968 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16969 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16970 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16971 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16972 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16973 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16974 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16975 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16977 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16978 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16979 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16980 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16981 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16983 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16984 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16985 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16986 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16987 @code{force} argument.
16989 @item directory-files
16990 This should be a function with the same interface as
16991 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
16992 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
16993 parameter is optional; the default is
16994 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
16995 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
16996 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
16997 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
16998 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
16999 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
17002 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
17003 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
17004 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
17005 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
17006 value is @code{nil}.
17008 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
17009 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
17010 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
17011 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
17012 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
17015 @subsubsection Group parameters
17017 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
17018 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
17019 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
17020 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
17021 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
17022 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
17025 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
17026 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
17027 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
17028 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
17029 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
17030 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
17031 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
17032 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
17033 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
17037 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
17038 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
17039 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
17040 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
17041 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
17042 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
17043 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
17044 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
17045 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
17046 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
17047 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
17048 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
17049 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
17052 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
17054 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
17056 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
17057 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
17058 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
17059 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
17060 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
17061 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
17062 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
17063 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
17064 article. So that form can refer to
17065 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
17066 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
17067 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
17068 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
17071 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
17072 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
17073 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
17074 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
17075 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
17076 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
17077 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
17078 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
17079 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
17080 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
17081 contain extra copies of the articles.
17083 @item directory-files
17084 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
17085 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
17086 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
17087 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
17089 @item distrust-Lines:
17090 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
17091 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
17092 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
17095 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
17096 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
17097 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
17098 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
17099 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
17100 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
17103 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
17104 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
17105 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
17106 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
17107 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
17108 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
17109 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
17111 @item nov-cache-size
17112 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
17113 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
17114 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
17115 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
17116 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
17117 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
17118 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
17119 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
17120 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
17121 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
17122 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
17125 @subsubsection Article identification
17126 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
17127 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
17128 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
17129 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
17130 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
17131 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
17132 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
17133 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
17134 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
17135 request the article in the summary buffer.
17137 @subsubsection NOV data
17138 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
17139 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
17140 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
17141 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
17142 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
17143 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
17144 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
17145 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
17146 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
17147 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
17148 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
17150 @subsubsection Article marks
17151 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
17152 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
17153 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
17154 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
17155 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
17156 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
17157 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
17158 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
17160 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
17161 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
17162 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
17163 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
17164 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
17165 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
17166 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
17167 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
17168 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
17172 @subsubsection Mail Folders
17174 @cindex mbox folders
17175 @cindex mail folders
17177 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
17178 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
17179 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
17180 numbers and arrival dates.
17182 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
17184 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
17185 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
17186 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
17187 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
17188 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
17189 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
17190 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
17191 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
17192 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
17193 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
17195 Virtual server settings:
17198 @item nnfolder-directory
17199 @vindex nnfolder-directory
17200 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
17201 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
17202 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
17204 @item nnfolder-active-file
17205 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
17206 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
17208 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
17209 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
17210 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
17211 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
17213 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
17214 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
17215 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
17216 default is @code{t}
17218 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
17219 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
17220 @cindex backup files
17221 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
17222 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
17223 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
17224 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
17227 (defun turn-off-backup ()
17228 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
17230 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
17233 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
17234 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
17235 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
17236 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
17237 extract some information from it before removing it.
17239 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
17240 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
17241 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
17242 default is @code{nil}.
17244 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
17245 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
17246 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
17248 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
17249 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
17250 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
17251 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
17253 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
17254 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
17255 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
17256 default is @code{nil}.
17258 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
17259 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
17260 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
17262 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
17263 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
17264 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
17265 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
17270 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
17271 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
17272 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
17273 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
17274 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
17275 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
17278 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
17279 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
17281 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
17282 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
17283 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
17284 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
17285 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
17287 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
17288 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
17289 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
17290 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
17291 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
17292 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
17293 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
17294 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
17297 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
17298 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
17299 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
17300 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
17305 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
17306 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
17307 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
17308 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
17309 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
17310 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
17311 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
17312 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
17313 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
17314 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
17315 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
17316 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
17317 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
17322 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
17323 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
17324 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
17325 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
17326 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
17327 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
17328 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
17329 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
17330 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
17331 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
17332 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
17333 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
17334 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
17335 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
17336 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
17338 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
17339 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
17344 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
17345 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
17346 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
17347 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
17348 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
17349 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
17350 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
17351 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
17352 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
17353 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
17354 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
17355 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
17356 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
17357 provided by the active file and overviews.
17359 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
17360 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
17361 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
17362 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
17363 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
17366 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
17367 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
17372 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
17373 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
17374 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
17375 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
17376 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
17377 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
17378 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
17382 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
17383 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
17384 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
17385 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
17386 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
17387 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
17388 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
17389 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
17390 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
17392 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
17393 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
17394 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
17395 friendly mail back end all over.
17399 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
17400 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
17403 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
17404 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
17405 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
17406 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
17407 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
17408 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
17409 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
17410 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
17413 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
17414 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
17415 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
17416 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
17417 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
17418 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
17419 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
17420 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
17421 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
17422 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
17423 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
17425 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
17426 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
17427 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
17428 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
17429 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
17432 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
17433 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
17434 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
17435 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
17436 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
17437 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
17438 removed in the future.
17440 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
17441 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
17442 on your file system.
17444 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
17445 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
17450 @node Browsing the Web
17451 @section Browsing the Web
17453 @cindex browsing the web
17457 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
17458 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
17459 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
17460 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
17461 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
17462 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
17463 even know what a news group is.
17465 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
17466 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
17467 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
17468 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
17469 you mad in the end.
17471 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
17474 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
17475 interfaces to these sources.
17479 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
17480 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
17481 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
17484 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
17485 alternatives to work.
17487 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
17488 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
17489 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
17490 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
17491 though, you should be ok.
17493 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
17494 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
17495 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
17496 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
17497 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
17499 @node Archiving Mail
17500 @subsection Archiving Mail
17501 @cindex archiving mail
17502 @cindex backup of mail
17504 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
17505 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
17506 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
17507 marks is fairly simple.
17509 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
17510 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
17513 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
17514 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
17515 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
17516 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
17517 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
17518 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
17519 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
17520 before you restore the data.
17522 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
17523 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
17524 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
17525 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
17526 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
17527 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
17528 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
17529 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
17530 is unnecessary in that case.
17533 @subsection Web Searches
17538 @cindex Usenet searches
17539 @cindex searching the Usenet
17541 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
17542 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
17543 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
17544 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
17545 searches without having to use a browser.
17547 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
17548 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
17549 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
17550 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
17551 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
17553 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
17554 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
17555 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
17556 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
17557 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
17558 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
17559 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
17560 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
17561 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
17562 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
17565 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
17566 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
17567 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
17568 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
17569 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
17570 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
17572 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
17573 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
17574 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
17576 Virtual server variables:
17581 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
17582 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
17583 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
17586 @vindex nnweb-search
17587 The search string to feed to the search engine.
17589 @item nnweb-max-hits
17590 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
17591 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
17594 @item nnweb-type-definition
17595 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
17596 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
17597 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
17602 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
17606 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
17609 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
17612 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
17616 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
17627 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
17628 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
17629 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
17630 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
17631 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
17633 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
17634 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
17636 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
17637 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
17638 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
17641 @kindex G R (Group)
17642 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
17643 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
17644 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
17645 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
17647 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
17648 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
17649 subscribe to groups.
17651 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
17652 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
17653 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
17654 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
17655 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
17658 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17659 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17660 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17663 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17664 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17667 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17668 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17672 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17673 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17674 @acronym{OPML} format.
17677 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17680 @item nnrss-directory
17681 @vindex nnrss-directory
17682 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17683 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17685 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17686 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17687 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17688 data files. The default is the value of
17689 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17690 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17692 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17693 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17694 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17695 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17696 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17697 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17698 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17699 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17701 @item nnrss-use-local
17702 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17703 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17704 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17705 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17706 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17707 download script using @command{wget}.
17709 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
17710 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
17711 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
17712 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
17713 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
17714 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
17715 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
17716 @samp{text/html} parts.
17719 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17720 the summary buffer.
17723 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17724 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17726 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17728 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17729 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17732 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17736 (require 'browse-url)
17738 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17740 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17743 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17744 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17747 (browse-url (cdr url))
17748 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17749 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17751 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17752 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17753 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17754 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17757 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17758 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17759 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17760 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17761 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17762 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17763 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17764 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17765 @code{nnrss} groups:
17768 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17769 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17771 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17772 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17773 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17775 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17778 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17782 @node Customizing W3
17783 @subsection Customizing W3
17789 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
17790 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
17791 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
17794 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
17795 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
17796 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
17799 (eval-after-load "w3"
17801 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
17802 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
17803 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
17804 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
17806 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
17809 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
17810 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
17814 @node Other Sources
17815 @section Other Sources
17817 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17818 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17822 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17823 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17824 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17825 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17829 @node Directory Groups
17830 @subsection Directory Groups
17832 @cindex directory groups
17834 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17835 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17838 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17839 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17840 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17841 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17843 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17844 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17845 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17846 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17847 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17849 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17851 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17852 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17853 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17854 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17857 @node Anything Groups
17858 @subsection Anything Groups
17861 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17862 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17863 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17866 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17867 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17868 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17869 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17870 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17871 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17872 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17873 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17874 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17875 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17878 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17879 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17880 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17881 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17883 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17884 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17885 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17886 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17888 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17889 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17890 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17891 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17892 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17893 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17894 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17895 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17900 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17901 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17902 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17903 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17905 @item nneething-exclude-files
17906 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17907 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17908 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17910 @item nneething-include-files
17911 @vindex nneething-include-files
17912 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17913 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17915 @item nneething-map-file
17916 @vindex nneething-map-file
17917 Name of the map files.
17921 @node Document Groups
17922 @subsection Document Groups
17924 @cindex documentation group
17927 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17928 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17938 The standard Unix mbox file.
17940 @cindex MMDF mail box
17942 The MMDF mail box format.
17945 Several news articles appended into a file.
17947 @cindex rnews batch files
17949 The rnews batch transport format.
17952 Netscape mail boxes.
17955 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17957 @item standard-digest
17958 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17961 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17963 @item lanl-gov-announce
17964 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17966 @cindex forwarded messages
17967 @item rfc822-forward
17968 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17971 The Outlook mail box.
17974 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17977 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17980 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17983 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17989 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17992 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17998 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17999 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
18000 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
18003 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
18004 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
18005 group. And that's it.
18007 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
18008 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
18009 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
18010 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
18011 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
18012 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
18013 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
18014 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
18015 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
18016 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
18018 Virtual server variables:
18021 @item nndoc-article-type
18022 @vindex nndoc-article-type
18023 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
18024 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
18025 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
18026 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
18027 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
18029 @item nndoc-post-type
18030 @vindex nndoc-post-type
18031 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
18032 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
18037 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
18041 @node Document Server Internals
18042 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
18044 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
18045 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
18046 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
18047 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
18049 First, here's an example document type definition:
18053 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
18054 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
18057 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
18058 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
18059 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
18060 types can be defined with very few settings:
18063 @item first-article
18064 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
18065 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
18068 @item article-begin
18069 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
18070 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
18071 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
18072 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
18074 @item article-begin-function
18075 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
18076 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
18079 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
18080 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
18081 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
18083 @item head-begin-function
18084 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
18085 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
18088 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
18089 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
18092 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
18093 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
18094 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
18096 @item body-begin-function
18097 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
18098 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
18101 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
18102 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
18103 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
18105 @item body-end-function
18106 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
18107 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
18110 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
18111 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
18114 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
18115 regexp will be totally ignored.
18119 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
18120 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
18121 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
18122 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
18123 something that's palatable for Gnus:
18126 @item prepare-body-function
18127 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
18128 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
18129 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
18131 @item article-transform-function
18132 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
18133 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
18134 body of the article.
18136 @item generate-head-function
18137 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
18138 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
18139 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
18140 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
18142 @item generate-article-function
18143 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
18144 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
18145 parameter when requesting all articles.
18147 @item dissection-function
18148 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
18149 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
18150 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
18151 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
18152 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
18153 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
18157 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
18162 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
18163 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
18164 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
18165 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
18166 (head-end . "^ ?$")
18167 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
18168 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
18169 (subtype digest guess))
18172 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
18173 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
18174 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
18175 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
18176 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
18178 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
18179 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
18180 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
18181 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
18182 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
18183 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
18184 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
18185 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
18186 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
18187 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
18188 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
18189 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
18192 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
18193 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
18194 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
18197 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
18198 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
18199 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
18201 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
18207 @item nngateway-address
18208 @vindex nngateway-address
18209 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
18211 @item nngateway-header-transformation
18212 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
18213 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
18214 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
18215 transformation should be called, and defaults to
18216 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
18217 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
18220 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
18221 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
18222 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
18225 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
18228 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
18231 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
18234 The following pre-defined functions exist:
18236 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18239 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18240 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18241 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
18243 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18245 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18246 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18247 @code{nngateway-address}.
18255 (setq gnus-post-method
18257 "mail2news@@replay.com"
18258 (nngateway-header-transformation
18259 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
18262 So, to use this, simply say something like:
18265 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
18270 @node Combined Groups
18271 @section Combined Groups
18273 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
18277 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
18281 @node Virtual Groups
18282 @subsection Virtual Groups
18284 @cindex virtual groups
18285 @cindex merging groups
18287 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
18290 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
18291 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
18292 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
18294 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
18295 regexp to match component groups.
18297 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
18298 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
18299 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
18300 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
18301 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
18302 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
18303 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
18304 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
18306 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
18307 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
18310 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
18313 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
18314 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
18316 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
18317 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
18318 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
18319 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
18322 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
18325 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
18326 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
18327 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
18329 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
18330 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
18331 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
18332 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
18333 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
18335 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
18336 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
18337 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
18339 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
18340 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
18341 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
18342 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
18343 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
18344 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
18345 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
18346 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
18347 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
18348 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
18349 it---it'll have much the same effect.
18351 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
18352 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
18353 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
18354 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
18355 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
18356 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
18357 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
18359 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
18360 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
18362 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
18363 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
18367 @node Email Based Diary
18368 @section Email Based Diary
18370 @cindex email based diary
18373 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
18374 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
18375 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
18376 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
18377 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
18378 namely, as event reminders.
18380 Here is a typical scenario:
18384 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
18385 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
18387 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
18389 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
18391 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
18392 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
18393 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
18395 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
18396 of the night you're gonna have.
18398 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
18399 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
18402 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
18403 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
18404 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
18405 explained in the sections below.
18408 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
18409 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
18410 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
18414 @node The NNDiary Back End
18415 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
18417 @cindex the nndiary back end
18419 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
18420 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
18421 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
18422 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
18423 directory per group.
18425 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
18426 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
18427 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
18428 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
18431 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
18432 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
18433 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
18436 @node Diary Messages
18437 @subsubsection Diary Messages
18438 @cindex nndiary messages
18439 @cindex nndiary mails
18441 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
18442 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
18443 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
18444 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
18445 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
18446 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
18447 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
18451 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
18452 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
18453 (separated by a comma).
18455 A field is either an integer, or a range.
18457 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
18459 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
18460 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
18461 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
18463 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
18464 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
18465 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
18467 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
18468 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
18469 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
18470 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
18471 list of available time zone values, see the variable
18472 @code{nndiary-headers}.
18475 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
18476 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
18477 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
18482 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
18485 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
18487 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
18490 @node Running NNDiary
18491 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18492 @cindex running nndiary
18493 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18495 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18496 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18497 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18498 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18499 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18500 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18502 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18503 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18504 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18505 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18506 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18507 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18508 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18511 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18516 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18517 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18520 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18523 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18524 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18525 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18526 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18527 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18529 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18530 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18539 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18540 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18542 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18543 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18544 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18545 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18548 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18549 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18550 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18553 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18554 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18555 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18557 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18558 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18559 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18560 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18561 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18563 @node Customizing NNDiary
18564 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18565 @cindex customizing nndiary
18566 @cindex nndiary customization
18568 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18569 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18570 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18571 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18573 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18574 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18575 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18576 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18577 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18581 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18582 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18587 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18588 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18590 @cindex the gnus diary library
18592 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18593 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18594 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18595 useful things for you.
18597 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18600 (require 'gnus-diary)
18603 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18604 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18605 (sorry if you used them before).
18609 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18610 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18611 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18612 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18615 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18616 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18617 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18618 @cindex diary summary line format
18620 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18621 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18622 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18623 see the event's date.
18625 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18626 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18627 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18628 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18629 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18631 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18632 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18633 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18636 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18639 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18640 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18643 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18646 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18647 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18648 with the following user options:
18650 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18651 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18652 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18653 diary groups'parameters.
18656 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18657 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18658 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18661 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18662 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18663 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18664 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18665 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18668 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18669 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18670 @cindex diary articles sorting
18671 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18672 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18673 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18674 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18676 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18677 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18678 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18679 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18680 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18682 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18683 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18684 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18685 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18688 @node Diary Headers Generation
18689 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18690 @cindex diary headers generation
18691 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18693 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18694 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18695 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18696 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18699 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18700 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18701 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
18702 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
18703 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
18705 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18706 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18707 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18710 @node Diary Group Parameters
18711 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18712 @cindex diary group parameters
18714 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18715 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18716 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18717 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18718 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18719 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18720 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18721 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18723 @node Sending or Not Sending
18724 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18726 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18727 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18731 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18732 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18733 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18734 sending the diary message to them as well.
18736 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18737 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18738 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18739 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18742 @node Gnus Unplugged
18743 @section Gnus Unplugged
18748 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18750 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18751 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18752 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18753 read news. Believe it or not.
18755 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18756 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18757 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18758 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18759 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18761 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18762 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18763 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18764 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18765 reading news on a machine.
18767 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18768 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18769 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18771 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18774 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18775 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18776 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18777 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18778 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18779 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18780 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18781 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18782 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18783 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18784 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18785 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18786 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18787 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18792 @subsection Agent Basics
18794 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18796 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18797 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18798 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18799 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18801 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18802 connected to the net continuously.
18804 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18805 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18807 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18808 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18809 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18810 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18811 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18813 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18814 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18815 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18816 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18817 they're kinda like plugged always).
18819 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18820 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18821 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18824 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18825 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18826 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18827 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18828 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18830 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18835 @findex gnus-unplugged
18836 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18837 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18838 already fetched while in this mode.
18841 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18842 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18843 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18844 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18845 Source Specifiers}).
18848 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18849 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18850 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18851 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18852 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18855 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18856 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18857 then you read the news offline.
18860 And then you go to step 2.
18863 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18869 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18870 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18871 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18872 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18873 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18874 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18875 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18876 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18879 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18880 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18881 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18882 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18884 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18885 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18886 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18887 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18888 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18889 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18893 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18897 @node Agent Categories
18898 @subsection Agent Categories
18900 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18901 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18902 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18903 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18904 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18905 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18906 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18908 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18909 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18910 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18911 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18912 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18914 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18915 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18916 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18917 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18918 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18921 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18922 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18923 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18924 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18925 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18926 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18930 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18931 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18932 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18936 @node Category Syntax
18937 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18939 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18940 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18941 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18944 @cindex Agent Parameters
18947 The list of groups that are in this category.
18949 @item agent-predicate
18950 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18951 are eligible for downloading; and
18954 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18955 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18956 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18958 @item agent-enable-expiration
18959 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18960 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18961 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18962 only groups that should not be expired.
18964 @item agent-days-until-old
18965 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18966 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18968 @item agent-low-score
18969 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18971 @item agent-high-score
18972 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18974 @item agent-short-article
18975 an integer that overrides the value of
18976 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18978 @item agent-long-article
18979 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18981 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18982 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18983 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18984 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18985 undownloaded faces.
18988 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18991 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18992 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18993 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18996 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18997 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18998 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18999 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
19001 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
19002 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
19003 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
19005 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
19006 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
19007 operators sprinkled in between.
19009 Perhaps some examples are in order.
19011 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
19012 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
19018 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
19019 short (for some value of ``short'').
19021 Here's a more complex predicate:
19030 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
19031 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
19034 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
19035 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
19036 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
19038 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
19039 you want to do, you can write your own.
19041 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
19042 bound to the value determined by calling
19043 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
19044 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
19045 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
19046 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
19047 predicate to individual groups.
19051 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
19052 lines; default 100.
19055 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
19056 lines; default 200.
19059 True if the article has a download score less than
19060 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
19063 True if the article has a download score greater than
19064 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
19067 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
19068 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
19069 checksum and sees whether articles match.
19078 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
19079 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
19080 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
19083 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
19084 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
19085 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
19086 something along the lines of the following:
19089 (defun my-article-old-p ()
19090 "Say whether an article is old."
19091 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
19092 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
19095 with the predicate then defined as:
19098 (not my-article-old-p)
19101 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
19102 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
19106 (require 'gnus-agent)
19107 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
19108 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
19109 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
19112 and simply specify your predicate as:
19118 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
19119 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
19120 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
19121 just don't give a damn.
19123 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
19124 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
19125 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
19126 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
19127 parameters like so:
19130 (agent-predicate . short)
19133 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
19134 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
19135 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
19137 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
19140 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
19143 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
19144 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
19145 predicate is assumed to be a list.
19148 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
19149 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
19150 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
19151 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
19152 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
19153 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
19155 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
19156 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
19157 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
19158 if it's to be specific to that group.
19160 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
19167 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
19168 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
19174 Category specification
19178 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19184 Group/Topic Parameter specification
19187 (agent-score ("from"
19188 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19193 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
19199 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
19200 keywords stated above.
19206 Category specification
19209 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
19215 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
19219 Group Parameter specification
19222 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
19225 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
19230 Use @code{normal} score files
19232 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
19233 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
19234 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
19235 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
19237 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
19238 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
19239 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
19240 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
19244 Category Specification
19251 Group Parameter specification
19254 (agent-score . file)
19259 @node Category Buffer
19260 @subsubsection Category Buffer
19262 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
19263 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
19264 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
19266 The following commands are available in this buffer:
19270 @kindex q (Category)
19271 @findex gnus-category-exit
19272 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
19275 @kindex e (Category)
19276 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
19277 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
19278 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
19281 @kindex k (Category)
19282 @findex gnus-category-kill
19283 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
19286 @kindex c (Category)
19287 @findex gnus-category-copy
19288 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
19291 @kindex a (Category)
19292 @findex gnus-category-add
19293 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
19296 @kindex p (Category)
19297 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
19298 Edit the predicate of the current category
19299 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
19302 @kindex g (Category)
19303 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
19304 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
19305 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
19308 @kindex s (Category)
19309 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
19310 Edit the download score rule of the current category
19311 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
19314 @kindex l (Category)
19315 @findex gnus-category-list
19316 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
19320 @node Category Variables
19321 @subsubsection Category Variables
19324 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
19325 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
19326 Hook run in category buffers.
19328 @item gnus-category-line-format
19329 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
19330 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
19331 Variables}). Valid elements are:
19335 The name of the category.
19338 The number of groups in the category.
19341 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
19342 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
19343 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
19345 @item gnus-agent-short-article
19346 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
19347 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
19349 @item gnus-agent-long-article
19350 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
19351 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
19353 @item gnus-agent-low-score
19354 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
19355 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
19358 @item gnus-agent-high-score
19359 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
19360 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
19363 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
19364 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19365 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
19366 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
19367 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
19368 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
19369 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
19370 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
19374 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19375 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19376 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
19377 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
19378 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
19379 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
19380 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
19385 @node Agent Commands
19386 @subsection Agent Commands
19387 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
19388 @kindex J j (Agent)
19390 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
19391 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
19392 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
19396 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
19397 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
19398 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
19404 @node Group Agent Commands
19405 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
19409 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
19410 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
19411 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
19412 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
19415 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
19416 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
19417 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
19420 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
19421 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
19422 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
19423 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
19426 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
19427 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
19428 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
19429 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
19432 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
19433 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
19434 Add the current group to an Agent category
19435 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
19436 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19439 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
19440 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
19441 Remove the current group from its category, if any
19442 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
19443 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19446 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
19447 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19448 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
19454 @node Summary Agent Commands
19455 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
19459 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
19460 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
19461 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
19464 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
19465 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
19466 Remove the downloading mark from the article
19467 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
19471 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
19472 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
19473 Toggle whether to download the article
19474 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
19478 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
19479 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
19480 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
19483 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
19484 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
19485 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
19486 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
19489 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
19490 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
19491 Download all processable articles in this group.
19492 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19495 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19496 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19497 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19498 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19503 @node Server Agent Commands
19504 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19508 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19509 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19510 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19511 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19514 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19515 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19516 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19517 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19522 @node Agent Visuals
19523 @subsection Agent Visuals
19525 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19526 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19527 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19528 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19529 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19530 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19531 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19532 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19533 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19534 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19536 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19537 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19538 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19539 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19540 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19541 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19542 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19543 articles will be available when unplugged.
19545 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19546 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19547 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19548 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19549 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19550 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19551 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19552 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19554 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19555 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19556 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19557 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19558 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19559 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19560 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19561 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19562 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19564 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19565 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19566 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19567 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19568 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19569 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19570 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19571 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19572 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19573 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19575 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19576 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19577 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19578 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19579 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19580 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19582 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19583 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19584 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19585 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19586 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19587 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19588 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19589 expiring'' articles.
19591 @node Agent as Cache
19592 @subsection Agent as Cache
19594 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19595 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19596 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19597 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19598 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19599 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19600 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19601 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19602 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19604 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19605 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19606 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19607 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19608 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19611 @subsection Agent Expiry
19613 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19614 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19615 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19616 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19617 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19618 @cindex agent expiry
19619 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19620 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
19622 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19623 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19624 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19625 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19626 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19627 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19628 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19629 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19631 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19632 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19633 synchronized with the group.
19635 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19636 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19638 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19639 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19640 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19641 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19642 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19643 be kept indefinitely.
19645 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19646 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19647 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19648 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19650 @node Agent Regeneration
19651 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19653 @cindex agent regeneration
19654 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19655 @cindex regeneration
19657 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19658 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19659 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19660 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19661 internal inconsistencies.
19663 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19664 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19665 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19666 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19667 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19668 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19670 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19671 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19672 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19673 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19674 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19675 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19677 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19678 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19679 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19680 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19681 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19682 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19685 @node Agent and flags
19686 @subsection Agent and flags
19688 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19689 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19690 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19691 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19692 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19693 to the flags in its own files.
19695 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19696 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19697 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19699 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19700 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19701 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19702 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19703 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19704 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19706 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19707 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19708 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19709 in the group buffer.
19711 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19712 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19713 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19714 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19715 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19716 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19717 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19718 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19720 @node Agent and IMAP
19721 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19723 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19724 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19725 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19726 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19728 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19729 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19734 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19737 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19741 @node Outgoing Messages
19742 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19744 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19745 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19746 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19748 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19749 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19750 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19752 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19753 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19754 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19755 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19758 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19759 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19760 ask you to confirm your action (see
19761 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19763 @node Agent Variables
19764 @subsection Agent Variables
19769 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19770 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19771 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19772 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19774 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19775 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19778 @item gnus-agent-directory
19779 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19780 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19781 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19783 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19784 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19785 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19786 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19787 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19790 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19791 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19792 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19794 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19795 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19796 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19798 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19799 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19800 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19802 @item gnus-agent-cache
19803 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19804 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19805 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19806 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19808 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19809 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19810 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19811 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19812 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19813 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19814 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19817 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19818 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19819 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19820 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19821 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19822 read. The default is @code{t}.
19824 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19825 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19826 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19827 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19828 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19829 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19830 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19832 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19833 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19834 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19835 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19836 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19837 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19838 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19839 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19840 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19841 over and over again.
19843 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19844 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19845 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19846 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19847 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19848 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19849 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19850 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19851 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19852 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19853 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19854 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19857 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19858 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19859 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19860 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19861 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19862 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19863 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19864 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19865 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19867 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19868 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19869 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19870 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19871 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19872 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19874 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19875 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19876 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19877 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19878 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19880 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19881 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19882 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19883 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19884 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19885 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19887 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19888 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19889 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19890 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19891 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19893 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19894 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19895 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19896 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19897 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19898 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19899 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19900 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19901 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19902 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19903 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19908 @node Example Setup
19909 @subsection Example Setup
19911 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19912 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19913 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19916 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19917 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19918 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19920 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19921 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19922 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19924 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19925 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19927 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19928 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19929 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19932 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19933 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19936 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19937 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19938 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19939 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19940 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19943 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19944 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19945 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19946 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19947 back all the killed groups.)
19949 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19950 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19951 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19954 @node Batching Agents
19955 @subsection Batching Agents
19956 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19958 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19959 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19960 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19962 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19963 following incantation:
19967 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19971 @node Agent Caveats
19972 @subsection Agent Caveats
19974 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19975 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19979 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19981 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19982 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19983 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19985 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19986 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19988 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19992 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19993 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19994 locally stored articles.
20001 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
20002 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
20003 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
20006 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
20007 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
20008 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
20009 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
20010 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
20012 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
20013 before generating the summary buffer.
20015 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
20016 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
20017 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
20019 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
20020 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
20021 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
20022 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
20025 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
20026 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
20027 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
20028 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
20029 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
20030 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
20031 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
20032 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
20033 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
20034 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
20035 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
20036 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
20037 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
20038 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
20039 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
20040 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
20044 @node Summary Score Commands
20045 @section Summary Score Commands
20046 @cindex score commands
20048 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
20049 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
20050 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
20051 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
20052 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
20054 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
20055 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
20056 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
20057 score file the current one.
20059 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
20064 @kindex V s (Summary)
20065 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
20066 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
20069 @kindex V S (Summary)
20070 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
20071 Display the score of the current article
20072 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
20075 @kindex V t (Summary)
20076 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
20077 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
20078 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
20079 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
20080 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
20081 score file and edit it.
20084 @kindex V w (Summary)
20085 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
20086 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
20089 @kindex V R (Summary)
20090 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
20091 Run the current summary through the scoring process
20092 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
20093 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
20094 effect you're having.
20097 @kindex V c (Summary)
20098 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
20099 Make a different score file the current
20100 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
20103 @kindex V e (Summary)
20104 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
20105 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
20106 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
20110 @kindex V f (Summary)
20111 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
20112 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
20113 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
20116 @kindex V F (Summary)
20117 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20118 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
20119 after editing score files.
20122 @kindex V C (Summary)
20123 @findex gnus-score-customize
20124 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
20125 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
20129 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
20134 @kindex V m (Summary)
20135 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
20136 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
20137 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
20140 @kindex V x (Summary)
20141 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
20142 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
20143 expunge all articles below this score
20144 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
20147 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
20148 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
20151 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
20152 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
20156 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
20157 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
20159 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
20160 keys are available:
20164 Score on the author name.
20167 Score on the subject line.
20170 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
20173 Score on the @code{References} line.
20179 Score on the number of lines.
20182 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
20185 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
20186 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
20189 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
20190 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
20191 @file{ADAPT} files.)
20200 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
20206 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
20207 what headers you are scoring on.
20219 Substring matching.
20222 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
20251 Greater than number.
20256 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
20257 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
20258 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
20263 Temporary score entry.
20266 Permanent score entry.
20269 Immediately scoring.
20273 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
20274 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
20275 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
20279 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
20280 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
20281 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
20282 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
20284 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
20285 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
20286 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
20287 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
20288 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
20290 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
20291 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
20292 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
20293 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
20294 current score file.
20296 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
20297 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
20298 pretend they are keymaps or not.
20301 @node Group Score Commands
20302 @section Group Score Commands
20303 @cindex group score commands
20305 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
20310 @kindex W e (Group)
20311 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
20312 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
20313 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
20316 @kindex W f (Group)
20317 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20318 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
20319 all the time. This command will flush the cache
20320 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
20324 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
20326 @findex gnus-batch-score
20327 @cindex batch scoring
20329 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
20333 @node Score Variables
20334 @section Score Variables
20335 @cindex score variables
20339 @item gnus-use-scoring
20340 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
20341 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
20342 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
20344 @item gnus-kill-killed
20345 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
20346 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
20347 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
20348 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
20349 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
20350 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
20351 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
20353 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
20354 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
20355 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
20356 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
20357 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
20359 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
20360 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
20361 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
20362 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
20364 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20365 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20366 @cindex score cache
20367 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
20368 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
20369 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
20370 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
20371 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
20372 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
20373 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
20376 @item gnus-save-score
20377 @vindex gnus-save-score
20378 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
20379 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
20380 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20382 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
20383 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
20384 across group visits.
20386 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20387 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20388 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
20389 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
20390 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
20391 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
20392 manually entered data.
20394 @item gnus-summary-default-score
20395 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
20396 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
20398 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
20399 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
20400 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
20401 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
20402 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
20403 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
20405 @item gnus-score-over-mark
20406 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
20407 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
20408 default. Default is @samp{+}.
20410 @item gnus-score-below-mark
20411 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
20412 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
20413 default. Default is @samp{-}.
20415 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20416 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20417 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
20418 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
20420 Predefined functions available are:
20423 @item gnus-score-find-single
20424 @findex gnus-score-find-single
20425 Only apply the group's own score file.
20427 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
20428 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
20429 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
20430 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
20431 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
20432 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
20433 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
20434 then a regexp match is done.
20436 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
20437 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
20439 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
20440 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
20441 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
20442 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
20444 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20445 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20446 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
20447 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
20448 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
20452 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
20453 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
20454 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
20455 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
20456 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
20457 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
20458 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
20461 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
20462 overall score file, you could use the value
20464 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
20465 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
20468 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
20469 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
20470 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
20471 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
20472 are expired. It's 7 by default.
20474 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20475 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20476 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
20477 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
20478 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
20479 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
20480 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
20481 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
20483 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20484 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20485 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
20487 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
20488 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
20489 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
20490 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
20491 threading---according to the current value of
20492 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20493 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20494 simplified in this manner.
20499 @node Score File Format
20500 @section Score File Format
20501 @cindex score file format
20503 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20504 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20505 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20507 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20511 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20513 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20515 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20517 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20522 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20526 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20527 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20528 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20529 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20533 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20534 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20536 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20537 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20538 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20540 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20545 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20546 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20547 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20548 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20549 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20550 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20551 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20552 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20553 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20554 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20555 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20556 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20557 to articles that matches these score entries.
20559 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20560 score entry has one to four elements.
20564 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20565 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20569 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20570 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20571 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20572 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20573 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20574 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20577 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20578 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20579 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20580 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20581 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20584 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20585 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20586 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20587 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20590 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20591 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20592 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20593 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20594 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20595 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20596 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20597 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20598 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20599 instead, if you feel like.
20602 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20603 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20604 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20605 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20606 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20607 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20611 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20612 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20616 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20617 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20619 These predicates are true if
20622 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20625 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20626 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20633 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20634 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20635 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20636 it's not. I think.)
20638 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20639 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20640 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20641 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20644 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20645 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20646 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20647 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20648 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20649 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20650 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20654 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20655 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20656 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20657 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20658 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20659 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20660 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20661 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20664 @item Head, Body, All
20665 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20669 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20670 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20671 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20672 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20673 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20674 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20675 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20679 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20680 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20681 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20682 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20683 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20684 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20685 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20686 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20687 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20688 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20689 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20693 @cindex score file atoms
20695 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20696 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20699 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20700 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20702 @item mark-and-expunge
20703 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20704 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20707 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20708 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20709 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20710 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20711 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20714 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20715 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20718 @item exclude-files
20719 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20720 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20724 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}ed. This element will be
20725 ignored when handling global score files.
20728 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20729 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20730 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20731 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20734 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20735 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20736 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20737 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20739 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20743 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20746 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20747 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20748 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{c y}) the
20749 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20750 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20752 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20753 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20754 scoring rules exist.
20757 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20758 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20759 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20760 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20761 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20762 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20763 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20764 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20765 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20766 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20767 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20771 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20772 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20773 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20774 file for a number of groups.
20777 @cindex local variables
20778 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20779 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20780 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20781 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20782 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20787 @node Score File Editing
20788 @section Score File Editing
20790 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20791 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20792 with a mode for that.
20794 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20795 additional commands:
20800 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20801 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
20802 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20803 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
20806 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20807 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20808 Insert the current date in numerical format
20809 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20810 you were wondering.
20813 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20814 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20815 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20816 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20817 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20822 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20824 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20825 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20827 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20828 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20831 @node Adaptive Scoring
20832 @section Adaptive Scoring
20833 @cindex adaptive scoring
20835 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20836 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20837 stupidity, to be precise.
20839 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20840 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20841 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20842 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20843 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20844 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20845 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20846 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20847 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20849 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20850 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20851 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20852 might look something like this:
20855 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20856 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20857 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20858 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20859 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20860 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20861 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20862 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20863 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20864 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20865 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20866 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20869 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20870 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20871 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20872 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20873 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20874 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20877 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20878 will be applied to each article.
20880 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20881 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20882 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20883 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20885 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20886 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20887 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20888 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20890 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20891 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20892 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20893 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20895 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20896 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20897 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20898 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20899 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20900 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20902 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20903 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20904 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20906 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20907 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20908 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20910 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20911 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20912 let you use different rules in different groups.
20914 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20915 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20916 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20919 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20920 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20921 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20922 default) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20924 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20925 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20926 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20927 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20928 the length of the match is less than
20929 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20930 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20933 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20934 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20935 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20936 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20937 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20940 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20941 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20942 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20943 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20944 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20947 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20948 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20949 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20950 score with 30 points.
20952 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20953 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20954 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20955 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20956 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20958 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20959 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20960 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20961 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20962 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20964 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20965 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20966 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20967 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20969 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20970 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20971 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20972 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20974 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20975 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20976 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20977 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20978 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20980 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20981 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20982 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20984 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20985 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20986 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20987 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20990 @node Home Score File
20991 @section Home Score File
20993 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20994 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20995 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20996 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20998 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20999 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
21000 could perhaps use the same home score file.
21002 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
21003 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
21008 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
21012 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
21013 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
21017 A list. The elements in this list can be:
21021 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
21022 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
21025 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
21026 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
21027 name of the group as the parameter.
21030 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
21033 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
21038 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
21041 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21042 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
21045 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
21046 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
21048 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
21050 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21051 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
21054 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
21055 Other functions include
21058 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
21059 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
21060 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
21061 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
21065 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
21066 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
21067 their own home score files:
21070 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21071 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
21072 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
21073 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
21074 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
21077 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
21078 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
21079 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
21080 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
21081 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
21083 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
21084 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
21085 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
21086 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
21087 precedence over this variable.
21090 @node Followups To Yourself
21091 @section Followups To Yourself
21093 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
21094 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
21095 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
21096 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
21097 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
21098 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
21102 @item gnus-score-followup-article
21103 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
21104 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
21107 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
21108 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
21109 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
21113 @vindex message-sent-hook
21114 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
21115 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
21117 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
21121 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
21122 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
21126 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21127 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21130 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
21131 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
21136 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
21140 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
21141 is system-dependent.
21144 @node Scoring On Other Headers
21145 @section Scoring On Other Headers
21146 @cindex scoring on other headers
21148 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
21149 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
21150 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
21151 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
21152 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
21154 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
21155 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
21156 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
21157 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
21158 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
21159 inhibited for all groups.
21161 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
21162 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
21163 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
21164 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
21165 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
21167 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21170 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
21171 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
21174 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
21175 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
21176 time if you have much mail.
21178 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
21179 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
21185 @section Scoring Tips
21186 @cindex scoring tips
21192 @cindex scoring crossposts
21193 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
21194 the @code{Xref} header.
21196 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
21199 @item Multiple crossposts
21200 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
21201 more than, say, 3 groups:
21204 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
21208 @item Matching on the body
21209 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
21210 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
21211 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
21212 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
21213 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
21214 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
21215 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
21218 @item Marking as read
21219 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
21220 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
21221 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
21225 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
21227 @item Negated character classes
21228 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
21229 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
21230 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
21234 @node Reverse Scoring
21235 @section Reverse Scoring
21236 @cindex reverse scoring
21238 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
21239 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
21240 like this in your score file:
21244 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
21249 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
21250 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
21253 @node Global Score Files
21254 @section Global Score Files
21255 @cindex global score files
21257 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
21258 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
21259 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
21261 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
21262 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
21263 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
21265 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
21266 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
21267 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
21268 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
21269 files are applicable to which group.
21271 To use the score file
21272 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
21273 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
21277 (setq gnus-global-score-files
21278 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
21279 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
21282 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
21284 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
21285 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
21286 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
21287 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
21289 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
21290 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
21292 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
21293 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
21294 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
21295 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
21296 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
21297 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
21299 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
21305 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
21307 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
21309 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
21311 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
21312 lowered out of existence.
21314 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
21315 articles completely.
21318 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
21319 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
21320 old articles for a long time.
21323 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
21324 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
21325 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
21326 holding our breath yet?
21330 @section Kill Files
21333 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
21334 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
21335 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
21337 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
21338 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
21339 files into score files.
21341 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
21342 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
21343 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
21344 that isn't a very good idea.
21346 Normal kill files look like this:
21349 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21350 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
21354 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
21355 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
21357 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
21358 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
21361 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
21366 @kindex M-k (Summary)
21367 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
21368 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
21371 @kindex M-K (Summary)
21372 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
21373 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
21376 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
21381 @kindex M-k (Group)
21382 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
21383 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
21386 @kindex M-K (Group)
21387 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
21388 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
21391 Kill file variables:
21394 @item gnus-kill-file-name
21395 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
21396 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
21397 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
21398 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
21399 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
21400 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
21402 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21403 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21404 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
21405 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
21408 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
21409 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
21410 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
21411 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
21412 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
21413 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
21414 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
21415 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
21416 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
21418 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21419 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21420 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
21425 @node Converting Kill Files
21426 @section Converting Kill Files
21428 @cindex converting kill files
21430 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
21431 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
21432 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
21435 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
21436 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
21438 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
21440 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
21441 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
21442 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
21446 @node Advanced Scoring
21447 @section Advanced Scoring
21449 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
21450 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
21451 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
21452 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
21453 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
21455 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
21459 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
21460 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
21461 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
21465 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
21466 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
21468 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
21469 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
21470 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
21471 non-@code{nil} value.
21473 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
21474 operator, and various match operators.
21481 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21482 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
21483 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
21488 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21489 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
21490 then this operator will return @code{false}.
21495 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
21496 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21500 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21501 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21502 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21503 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21504 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21505 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21506 the ancestry you want to go.
21508 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21509 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21510 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21511 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21512 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21515 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21516 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21518 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21519 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21522 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21523 when he's talking about Gnus:
21528 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21529 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21536 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21540 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21547 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21548 really don't want to read what he's written:
21552 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21553 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
21557 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21558 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21559 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21566 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21567 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21568 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21569 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21573 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21574 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21575 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21576 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21579 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21581 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21585 The possibilities are endless.
21587 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21588 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21590 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21591 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21592 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21593 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21594 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21595 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21596 @samp{subject}) first.
21598 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21599 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21610 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21611 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21617 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21624 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21625 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21630 @section Score Decays
21631 @cindex score decays
21634 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21635 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21636 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21637 use them in any sensible way.
21639 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21640 @findex gnus-decay-score
21641 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21642 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21643 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21644 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21645 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21646 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21647 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21648 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21649 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21650 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21654 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21655 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21656 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21658 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21660 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21662 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21663 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21664 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21665 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21666 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21668 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21672 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21673 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21674 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21675 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21679 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21682 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21685 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21689 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21690 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21691 the new score, which should be an integer.
21693 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21694 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21699 @include message.texi
21700 @chapter Emacs MIME
21701 @include emacs-mime.texi
21703 @include sieve.texi
21715 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21716 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21717 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21718 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21719 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21720 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21721 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21722 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21723 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21724 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21725 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21726 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21727 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21728 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21729 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21730 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21731 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
21732 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
21733 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
21734 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21735 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21739 @node Process/Prefix
21740 @section Process/Prefix
21741 @cindex process/prefix convention
21743 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21744 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21746 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21747 command to be performed on.
21751 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21752 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21753 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21754 with the current one.
21756 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21757 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21758 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21760 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21761 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21764 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21765 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21767 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21770 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21771 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21772 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21773 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21775 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21776 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21777 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21778 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21779 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21780 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21781 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21782 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21784 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21785 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21786 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21787 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21788 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21792 @section Interactive
21793 @cindex interaction
21797 @item gnus-novice-user
21798 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21799 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21800 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21801 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21802 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21805 @item gnus-expert-user
21806 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21807 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21808 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing,
21809 no matter how strange. For example, quitting Gnus, exiting a group
21810 without an update, catching up with a group, deleting expired
21811 articles, and replying by mail to a news message will not require
21814 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21815 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21816 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21817 is @code{t} by default.
21819 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21820 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21821 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21826 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21827 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21828 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21830 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21831 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21832 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21833 rule of 900 to the current article.
21835 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21836 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21837 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21838 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21839 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21840 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21841 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21843 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21844 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21845 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21846 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21847 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21848 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21849 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21850 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21851 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21853 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21854 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21855 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21857 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21861 @node Formatting Variables
21862 @section Formatting Variables
21863 @cindex formatting variables
21865 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21866 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21867 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21868 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21869 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21872 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21873 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21874 lots of percentages everywhere.
21877 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21878 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21879 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21880 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21881 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21882 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21883 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21884 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21887 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21888 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21889 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21890 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21891 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21892 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21893 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21894 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21896 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21897 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21899 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21900 @findex gnus-update-format
21901 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21902 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21903 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21904 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21908 @node Formatting Basics
21909 @subsection Formatting Basics
21911 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21912 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21913 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21915 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21916 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21917 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21918 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21919 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21922 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21923 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21924 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21925 less than 4 characters wide.
21927 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21928 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21931 @node Mode Line Formatting
21932 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21934 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21935 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21936 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21937 with the following two differences:
21942 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21945 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21946 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21947 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21948 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21949 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21950 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21951 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21956 @node Advanced Formatting
21957 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21959 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21960 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21961 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21962 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21964 These are the valid modifiers:
21969 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21973 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21978 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21981 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21986 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21989 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
21992 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
21995 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22001 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22006 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22007 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22008 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22009 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22010 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22011 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22012 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22014 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22015 last operation, padding.
22017 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
22018 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
22019 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
22020 @xref{Compilation}.
22023 @node User-Defined Specs
22024 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22026 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22027 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22028 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22029 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22030 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22031 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22032 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22033 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22034 should protect against that.
22036 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22037 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22039 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22040 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22041 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22042 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22046 @node Formatting Fonts
22047 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22050 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22051 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22052 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22053 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22054 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22058 @vindex gnus-face-0
22059 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22060 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22061 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22062 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22063 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22064 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22066 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
22067 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
22068 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
22069 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22070 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22071 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22072 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22073 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22074 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22075 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22076 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22077 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22078 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22079 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22082 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22085 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22086 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22087 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22089 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22090 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22091 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22092 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22093 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22094 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22095 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22097 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22098 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22099 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22102 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22103 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22105 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22106 mode-line variables.
22108 @node Positioning Point
22109 @subsection Positioning Point
22111 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22112 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22113 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22115 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22117 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22118 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22119 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22121 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22122 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22123 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22128 @subsection Tabulation
22130 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22131 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22132 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22133 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22135 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22136 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22138 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22139 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22140 This is the soft tabulator.
22142 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22143 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22144 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22147 @node Wide Characters
22148 @subsection Wide Characters
22150 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22151 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22152 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22154 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22155 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22156 these countries, that's not true.
22158 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22159 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22160 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22161 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22165 @node Window Layout
22166 @section Window Layout
22167 @cindex window layout
22169 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22171 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22172 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22173 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22174 @code{t} by default.
22176 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22177 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22179 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22180 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22181 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22184 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)))
22185 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22189 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22190 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22191 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22192 possible names is listed below.
22194 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22195 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22198 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22202 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22203 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22204 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22205 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22206 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22207 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22208 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22209 size spec per split.
22211 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22212 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22213 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22214 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22215 present) gets focus.
22217 Here's a more complicated example:
22220 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22221 (summary 0.25 point)
22225 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22226 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22227 occupy, not a percentage.
22229 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22230 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22231 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22232 be used as a split.
22234 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22237 (article (horizontal 1.0
22241 (summary 0.25 point)
22245 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22246 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22248 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22249 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22250 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22251 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22252 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22254 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22255 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22256 lines from the splits.
22258 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22263 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22264 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22265 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22266 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22267 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22268 size = number | frame-params
22269 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22273 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22274 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22275 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22276 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22278 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22279 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22280 @cindex window height
22281 @cindex window width
22282 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22283 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22284 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22285 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22286 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22287 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22289 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22290 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22291 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22292 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22294 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22295 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22296 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22297 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22298 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22299 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22300 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22301 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22302 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22303 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22304 configuration list.
22307 (gnus-configure-frame
22311 (article 0.3 point))
22319 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22320 @code{frame} split:
22323 (gnus-configure-frame
22326 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22328 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22329 (user-position . t)
22330 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22335 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22336 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22337 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22338 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22339 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22340 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22341 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22342 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22344 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22345 be found in its default value.
22347 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22348 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22349 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22353 (message (horizontal 1.0
22354 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22356 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22361 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22362 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22363 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22368 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22369 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22370 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22371 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22372 (name . "Message"))
22373 (message 1.0 point))))
22376 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22377 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22378 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22379 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22380 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22383 (gnus-add-configuration
22384 '(article (vertical 1.0
22386 (summary .25 point)
22390 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22391 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22392 Gnus has been loaded.
22394 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22395 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22396 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22397 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22398 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22400 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22401 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22402 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22405 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22409 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22410 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22425 (gnus-add-configuration
22428 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22430 (summary 0.16 point)
22433 (gnus-add-configuration
22436 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22437 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22443 @node Faces and Fonts
22444 @section Faces and Fonts
22449 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22450 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22451 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22456 @section Compilation
22457 @cindex compilation
22458 @cindex byte-compilation
22460 @findex gnus-compile
22462 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22463 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22464 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22465 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22466 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22467 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22470 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22471 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22472 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22473 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22474 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22475 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22476 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22480 @section Mode Lines
22483 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22484 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22485 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22486 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22487 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22488 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22489 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22492 @cindex display-time
22494 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22495 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22496 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22497 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22498 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22499 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22500 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22501 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22504 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22506 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22507 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22509 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22510 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22511 (length display-time-string)))))
22514 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22515 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22516 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22517 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22518 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22521 @node Highlighting and Menus
22522 @section Highlighting and Menus
22524 @cindex highlighting
22527 @vindex gnus-visual
22528 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22529 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22530 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22533 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22534 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22537 @item group-highlight
22538 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22539 @item summary-highlight
22540 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22541 @item article-highlight
22542 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22544 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22546 Create menus in the group buffer.
22548 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22550 Create menus in the article buffer.
22552 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22554 Create menus in the server buffer.
22556 Create menus in the score buffers.
22558 Create menus in all buffers.
22561 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22562 buffers, you could say something like:
22565 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22568 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22571 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22574 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22575 in all Gnus buffers.
22577 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22580 @item gnus-mouse-face
22581 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22582 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22583 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22587 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22591 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22592 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22593 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22595 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22596 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22597 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22599 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22600 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22601 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22603 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22604 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22605 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22607 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22608 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22609 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22611 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22612 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22613 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22623 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22624 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22625 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22626 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22627 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22629 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22630 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22631 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22633 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22634 been idle for thirty minutes:
22637 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22640 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22644 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22647 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22648 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22649 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22651 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22652 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22653 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22654 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22656 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22657 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22658 @var{idle} minutes.
22660 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22661 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22664 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22665 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22666 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22668 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22669 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22670 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22671 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22673 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22674 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22676 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22678 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22681 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22682 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22683 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22684 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22685 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22686 @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22687 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22688 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22689 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22690 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22692 @findex gnus-demon-init
22693 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22694 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22695 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22696 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22697 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22699 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22700 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22701 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22709 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22710 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22711 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22713 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22714 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22715 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22716 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22717 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22718 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22719 @code{undo} function.
22721 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22722 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22723 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22724 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22725 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22726 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22727 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22728 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22729 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22730 never be totally undoable.
22732 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22733 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22735 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22736 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22737 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22738 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22742 @node Predicate Specifiers
22743 @section Predicate Specifiers
22744 @cindex predicate specifiers
22746 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22747 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22748 to type all that much.
22750 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22755 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22756 gnus-article-unread-p)
22759 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22760 functions all take one parameter.
22762 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22763 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22764 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22765 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22770 @section Moderation
22773 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22774 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22775 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22778 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22782 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22785 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22787 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22792 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22793 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22794 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22797 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22798 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22801 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22802 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22806 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22809 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22810 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22814 @node Fetching a Group
22815 @section Fetching a Group
22816 @cindex fetching a group
22818 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22819 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22820 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22821 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22822 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22823 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22826 @node Image Enhancements
22827 @section Image Enhancements
22829 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22830 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
22831 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
22834 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22835 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22836 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22837 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22838 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
22839 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22847 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22848 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22849 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22853 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22854 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22855 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22863 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22864 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
22865 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
22866 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
22867 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
22868 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
22869 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
22870 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
22871 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22872 @code{display} program.
22874 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
22875 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
22876 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
22877 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
22878 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
22879 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
22880 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
22881 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
22883 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
22884 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
22885 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22886 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22887 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
22888 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22890 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22898 @vindex gnus-x-face
22899 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22900 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22901 default colors are black and white.
22903 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22904 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22905 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22906 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22907 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22908 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22911 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22912 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22913 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22914 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22916 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22917 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22918 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22919 (png . (:relief -2))))
22922 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22923 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22924 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22925 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22926 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22927 @samp{libcompface} library.
22930 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
22931 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
22932 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
22933 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
22934 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
22935 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
22937 @findex gnus-random-x-face
22938 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
22939 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
22940 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
22941 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
22942 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
22943 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
22944 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
22945 header data as a string.
22947 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
22948 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
22949 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
22950 randomly generated data.
22952 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
22953 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
22954 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
22955 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
22956 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
22958 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
22959 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22962 (setq message-required-news-headers
22963 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22964 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
22967 Using the last function would be something like this:
22970 (setq message-required-news-headers
22971 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22972 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
22973 (gnus-x-face-from-file
22974 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
22982 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
22984 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
22985 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
22986 represent the author of the message.
22989 @findex gnus-article-display-face
22990 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
22991 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
22994 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
22995 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
22997 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23000 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23002 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23004 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23005 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23007 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23008 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23009 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23011 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23012 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23013 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23014 converts the file to Face format by using the
23015 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23017 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23018 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23021 (setq message-required-news-headers
23022 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23023 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23024 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23029 @subsection Smileys
23034 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23039 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23040 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23042 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23043 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23046 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23049 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23050 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23051 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23052 text and maps that to file names.
23054 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23055 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23056 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23057 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23058 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23061 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
23066 @vindex smiley-style
23067 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
23068 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
23069 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
23070 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
23073 @item smiley-data-directory
23074 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23075 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
23076 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
23078 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23079 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23080 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23094 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23095 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23096 over your shoulder as you read news.
23098 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23107 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23108 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23109 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23110 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23111 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23112 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23113 @code{GIF} formats.
23116 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23117 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23118 point your Web browser at
23119 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23121 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23122 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23124 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23125 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23128 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23129 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23130 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23131 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23133 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23137 @item gnus-picon-databases
23138 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23139 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23140 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23141 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23142 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23144 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23145 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23146 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23147 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23149 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23150 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23151 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23152 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23154 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23155 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23156 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23157 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23158 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23160 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23161 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23162 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23163 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23165 @item gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23166 @vindex gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23167 If non-@code{nil} (which is the default), don't display picons for
23168 things like @samp{.net} and @samp{.de}, which aren't usually very
23174 @subsection Gravatars
23178 \include{gravatars}
23182 A gravatar is an image registered to an e-mail address.
23184 You can submit yours on-line at @uref{http://www.gravatar.com}.
23186 The following variables offer control over how things are displayed.
23190 @item gnus-gravatar-size
23191 @vindex gnus-gravatar-size
23192 The size in pixels of gravatars. Gravatars are always square, so one
23193 number for the size is enough.
23195 @item gnus-gravatar-properties
23196 @vindex gnus-gravatar-properties
23197 List of image properties applied to Gravatar images.
23201 If you want to see them in the From field, set:
23203 (setq gnus-treat-from-gravatar 'head)
23206 If you want to see them in the Cc and To fields, set:
23209 (setq gnus-treat-mail-gravatar 'head)
23214 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23217 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23218 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23219 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23220 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23221 unusual directory structure.
23223 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23224 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23225 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23230 @subsubsection Toolbar
23234 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23235 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23236 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23237 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23238 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23239 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23240 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23241 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23243 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23244 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23245 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23246 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23247 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23248 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23250 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23251 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23252 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23254 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23255 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23256 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23258 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23259 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23260 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23271 @node Fuzzy Matching
23272 @section Fuzzy Matching
23273 @cindex fuzzy matching
23275 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23276 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23278 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23279 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23280 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23282 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23283 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23284 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23285 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23286 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23289 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23290 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23294 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23296 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23297 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23298 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23299 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23300 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23301 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23302 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23303 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23306 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23307 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23308 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23309 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23310 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23311 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23313 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23316 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23317 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23318 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23319 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23322 @node The problem of spam
23323 @subsection The problem of spam
23325 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23326 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23328 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23330 First, some background on spam.
23332 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23333 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23334 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23335 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23336 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23337 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23338 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23339 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23340 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23342 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23343 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23344 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23345 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23346 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23347 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23348 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23349 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23350 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23353 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23354 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23355 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23356 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23357 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23358 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23359 from Bulgarian IPs.
23361 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23362 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23363 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23364 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23366 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23367 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23368 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23369 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23371 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23372 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23373 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23374 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23375 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23376 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23377 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23378 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23379 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23381 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23382 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23383 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23384 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23385 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23386 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23387 down for some time because of the incident.
23389 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23390 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23391 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23392 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23393 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23394 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23395 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23396 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23397 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23398 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23399 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23401 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23402 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23403 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23404 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23405 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23406 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23407 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23410 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23411 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23415 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23417 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23418 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23420 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23421 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23422 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23423 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23424 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23425 part of the mail address.)
23428 (setq message-default-news-headers
23429 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23432 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23433 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23437 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23438 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23439 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23444 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23445 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23446 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23447 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23449 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23450 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23451 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23452 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23453 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23454 your fancy split rule in this way:
23459 (to "larsi" "misc")
23463 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23464 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23465 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23466 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23467 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23469 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23470 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23471 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23472 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23474 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23478 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23479 @cindex SpamAssassin
23480 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23483 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23484 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23485 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23486 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23487 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23488 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23489 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23491 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23492 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23493 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23496 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23497 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23498 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23499 Specifiers}) follow.
23503 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23507 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23510 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23511 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23512 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23515 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23519 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23522 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23523 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23527 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23528 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23529 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23530 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23533 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23535 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23539 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23540 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23544 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23545 downloaded by default. You need to set
23546 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23547 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
23549 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23550 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23551 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23554 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23555 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23557 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
23558 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23562 @subsection Hashcash
23565 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23566 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23567 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23568 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23569 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23571 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23572 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23573 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23574 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23575 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23576 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23577 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23578 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23579 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23580 one of them separately.
23583 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23584 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23585 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23586 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23587 need to install to use this feature, see
23588 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23589 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23591 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23592 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23593 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23596 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23599 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23603 @item hashcash-default-payment
23604 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23605 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23606 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23609 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23610 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23611 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23612 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23613 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23614 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23615 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23616 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23617 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23619 @item hashcash-path
23620 @vindex hashcash-path
23621 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23622 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23623 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23624 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23625 when you generate hashcash payments.
23629 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23630 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23631 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23632 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23633 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23634 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23635 Hashcash Payments}).
23638 @section Spam Package
23639 @cindex spam filtering
23642 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
23643 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
23644 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
23645 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
23648 * Spam Package Introduction::
23649 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
23650 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
23651 * Spam and Ham Processors::
23652 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
23654 * Extending the Spam package::
23655 * Spam Statistics Package::
23658 @node Spam Package Introduction
23659 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
23660 @cindex spam filtering
23661 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23664 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
23665 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23667 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23668 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
23670 @cindex spam-initialize
23671 @vindex spam-use-stat
23672 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
23673 @code{spam-initialize}:
23679 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
23680 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
23681 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
23682 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
23683 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
23685 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
23686 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
23688 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
23689 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
23691 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
23692 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
23693 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
23694 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
23695 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
23697 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
23698 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
23699 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
23700 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
23701 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
23704 @cindex spam back ends
23705 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
23706 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
23707 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
23708 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
23709 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23711 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
23712 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
23714 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
23715 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
23716 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
23717 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
23718 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
23719 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
23720 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
23722 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
23723 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
23724 point, the Spam package does several things:
23726 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
23727 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
23728 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
23729 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
23730 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
23731 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
23732 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
23733 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
23736 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
23737 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
23747 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23748 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23749 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
23750 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
23754 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
23755 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
23757 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
23758 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
23759 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
23760 to be processed as ham by setting
23761 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23762 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
23764 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23765 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23766 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
23767 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
23768 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
23769 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
23770 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
23771 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
23772 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
23773 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
23774 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
23775 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
23777 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
23778 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
23779 want each article to be processed only once, load the
23780 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
23781 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
23782 Configuration Examples}.
23784 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
23785 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
23786 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
23787 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
23789 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
23790 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23792 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23793 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23794 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23796 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
23797 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
23798 @cindex spam filtering
23799 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23802 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
23803 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
23804 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
23805 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23806 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
23812 @vindex spam-split-group
23814 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
23815 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
23816 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
23817 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
23818 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
23819 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
23820 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
23821 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
23822 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
23824 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
23826 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
23827 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
23828 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
23829 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to
23830 @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can ``scan''
23831 the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only retrieves
23832 the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells it to
23833 retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by default
23834 because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
23835 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Client-Side
23838 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
23839 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
23840 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
23841 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
23842 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
23843 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
23844 ends, and the following split rule:
23847 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23848 (any "ding" "ding")
23850 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23855 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
23856 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
23857 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
23858 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
23859 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
23860 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23862 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
23863 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
23864 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
23865 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
23870 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23871 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23872 (any "ding" "ding")
23873 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23875 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23880 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23881 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
23882 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23883 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23884 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23885 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23886 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23888 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23889 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23890 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23891 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23893 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
23894 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
23897 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
23898 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
23900 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
23901 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
23902 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
23903 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23905 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23906 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23907 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23908 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
23910 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
23911 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
23912 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
23914 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
23915 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
23916 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
23917 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
23918 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
23919 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
23920 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
23922 @node Spam and Ham Processors
23923 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
23924 @cindex spam filtering
23925 @cindex spam filtering variables
23926 @cindex spam variables
23929 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23930 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
23931 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
23932 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
23933 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
23934 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
23935 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
23937 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
23938 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
23939 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
23940 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
23942 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23943 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
23944 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
23945 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
23946 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
23947 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
23948 by customizing the corresponding variable
23949 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
23950 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
23951 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
23952 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
23953 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
23954 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
23955 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
23958 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
23960 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
23961 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
23962 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
23963 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
23964 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
23965 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
23966 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
23967 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
23968 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
23969 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
23970 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
23971 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
23972 processor which will study them as spam samples.
23974 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
23975 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
23976 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
23977 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
23978 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
23979 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
23980 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
23981 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
23984 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23985 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
23986 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
23987 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
23988 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
23989 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
23990 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
23995 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23996 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
23997 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
23998 you really want to.
24001 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24002 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24003 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24004 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24005 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24006 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24009 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24010 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24011 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24012 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24013 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24014 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24015 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24016 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24017 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24018 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24019 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24020 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24021 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24022 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24023 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24025 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24026 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24028 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24029 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24030 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24032 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24033 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24035 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24036 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24037 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24038 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24039 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24041 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24042 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24043 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24044 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24045 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24048 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24049 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24050 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24051 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24052 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24053 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24054 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24055 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24056 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24057 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24058 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24059 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24060 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24062 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24063 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24065 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24066 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24069 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24070 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24071 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24072 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24073 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24074 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24075 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24077 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24078 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24079 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24080 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24082 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24083 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24084 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24085 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24086 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24087 from the mail server.
24089 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24090 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24091 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24092 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24094 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24095 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24096 @cindex spam filtering
24097 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24098 @cindex spam configuration examples
24101 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24103 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24105 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24106 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24107 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24111 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24113 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24114 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24115 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24116 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24117 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24118 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24119 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24120 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24121 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24122 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
24123 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24124 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24125 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24126 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24127 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24128 (any "ding" "ding")
24129 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24131 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24134 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24136 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24137 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24138 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24139 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24141 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24143 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24144 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24145 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24146 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24147 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24149 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24150 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24152 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24154 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24155 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24157 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24158 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24159 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24161 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24163 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24164 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24166 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24167 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24168 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24170 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24171 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24172 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24173 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24175 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24176 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24177 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24181 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24182 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24184 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24185 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24186 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24187 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24188 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24189 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24190 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24191 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24192 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24194 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24195 does most of the job for me:
24198 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24199 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24200 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24201 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24202 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24203 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24204 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24209 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24211 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24212 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24213 bogofilter or DCC).
24215 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24216 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24217 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24218 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24219 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24220 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24221 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24223 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24224 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24225 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24226 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24227 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24228 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24230 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24232 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24233 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24234 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24235 @samp{training.spam}.
24238 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24240 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24242 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24243 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24244 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24248 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24251 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24252 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24253 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24254 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24255 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24257 @node Spam Back Ends
24258 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24259 @cindex spam back ends
24261 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24262 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24263 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24264 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24268 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24269 * BBDB Whitelists::
24270 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24271 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24273 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24275 * SpamAssassin back end::
24276 * ifile spam filtering::
24277 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24281 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24282 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24283 @cindex spam filtering
24284 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24285 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24288 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24290 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24291 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24292 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24293 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24298 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24300 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24301 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24302 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24303 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24304 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24308 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24310 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24311 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24312 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24316 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24318 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24319 customizing the group parameters or the
24320 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24321 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24322 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24326 Instead of the obsolete
24327 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24328 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24329 the same way, we promise.
24333 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24335 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24336 customizing the group parameters or the
24337 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24338 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24339 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24344 Instead of the obsolete
24345 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24346 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24347 the same way, we promise.
24351 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24352 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24353 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24354 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24355 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24357 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24358 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24359 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24360 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24362 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24363 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24364 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24365 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24366 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24367 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24369 @node BBDB Whitelists
24370 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24371 @cindex spam filtering
24372 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24373 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24376 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24378 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24379 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24380 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24381 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24382 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24383 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24384 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24388 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24390 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24391 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24392 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24393 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24394 classified as spammers.
24396 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24397 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24398 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24399 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24404 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24406 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24407 customizing the group parameters or the
24408 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24409 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24410 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24415 Instead of the obsolete
24416 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24417 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24418 the same way, we promise.
24422 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24423 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24424 @cindex spam reporting
24425 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24426 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24429 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24431 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24432 customizing the group parameters or the
24433 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24434 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24435 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24438 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24442 Instead of the obsolete
24443 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24444 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24445 same way, we promise.
24449 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24451 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24452 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24453 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24454 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24455 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24459 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24461 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24462 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24463 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24467 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24468 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24469 @cindex spam filtering
24470 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24473 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24475 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24476 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24477 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24478 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24479 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24480 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24485 @subsubsection Blackholes
24486 @cindex spam filtering
24487 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24490 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24492 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24493 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24494 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24495 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24496 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24497 contains outdated servers.
24499 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24500 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24501 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24502 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24503 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24504 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24508 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24510 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24514 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24516 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24517 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24521 @defvar spam-use-dig
24523 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24524 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24528 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24529 ham processor for blackholes.
24531 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24532 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24533 @cindex spam filtering
24534 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24537 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24539 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24540 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24541 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24542 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24543 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24544 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24548 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24550 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24551 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24555 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24557 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24558 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24562 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24563 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24566 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24567 @cindex spam filtering
24568 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24571 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24573 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24576 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24577 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24578 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24579 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24580 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24581 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24583 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24584 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24587 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24588 processing will be turned off.
24590 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24599 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
24600 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
24603 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24605 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24606 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24607 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24608 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24609 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24610 installation documents for details.
24612 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24616 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24617 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24618 customizing the group parameters or the
24619 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24620 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24621 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24625 Instead of the obsolete
24626 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24627 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24628 the same way, we promise.
24631 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24632 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24633 customizing the group parameters or the
24634 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24635 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24636 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24637 of non-spam messages.
24641 Instead of the obsolete
24642 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24643 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24644 the same way, we promise.
24647 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24649 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24650 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24651 database directory.
24655 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24656 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24657 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24658 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24659 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24660 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24662 @node SpamAssassin back end
24663 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24664 @cindex spam filtering
24665 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24668 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24670 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24672 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24673 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24674 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24675 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24678 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24679 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24680 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24681 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24684 You should not enable this if you use
24685 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24689 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24691 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24692 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24694 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24698 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
24700 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24701 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24702 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24703 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24707 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24708 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24709 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24710 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24711 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24712 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24713 to test this functionality.
24715 @node ifile spam filtering
24716 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24717 @cindex spam filtering
24718 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24721 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24723 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24724 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24728 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24730 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24731 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24732 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24736 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24738 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24739 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24740 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24743 @defvar spam-ifile-database
24745 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24746 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24750 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24751 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24752 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24753 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24756 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
24757 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
24758 @cindex spam filtering
24759 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24763 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
24764 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
24765 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
24766 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
24767 spam-stat dictionary}.
24769 @defvar spam-use-stat
24773 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24774 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24775 customizing the group parameters or the
24776 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24777 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24778 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24782 Instead of the obsolete
24783 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24784 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24785 the same way, we promise.
24788 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24789 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24790 customizing the group parameters or the
24791 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24792 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24793 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24794 of non-spam messages.
24798 Instead of the obsolete
24799 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24800 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24801 the same way, we promise.
24804 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24805 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24806 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24807 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24808 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24811 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24812 @cindex spam filtering
24816 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24817 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24818 installed separately.
24820 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24821 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24822 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24823 mail as a spam mail or not.
24825 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24826 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24827 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24829 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
24832 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24833 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24834 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24835 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
24836 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
24837 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
24838 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
24839 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
24842 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24843 spam-split-group "Junk"
24844 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
24845 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24846 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24849 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24850 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24854 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24855 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24856 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24860 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24861 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24862 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
24863 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24864 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24865 database to live somewhere special, set
24866 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24869 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24870 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24871 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
24872 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24873 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24874 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
24875 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
24876 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
24877 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
24878 @xref{Spam Package}.
24880 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24881 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24882 customizing the group parameter or the
24883 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24884 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24885 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24889 Instead of the obsolete
24890 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24891 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24892 the same way, we promise.
24895 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24896 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24897 customizing the group parameter or the
24898 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24899 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24900 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24905 Instead of the obsolete
24906 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24907 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24908 the same way, we promise.
24911 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24912 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24915 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24916 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24917 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24919 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24920 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24921 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24922 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24923 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24924 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24926 @node Extending the Spam package
24927 @subsection Extending the Spam package
24928 @cindex spam filtering
24929 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24930 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
24932 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
24933 incoming mail, provide the following:
24941 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
24942 "True if blackbox should be used.")
24945 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
24947 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
24948 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
24949 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
24950 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
24951 register/unregister spam and ham.
24956 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
24957 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
24958 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
24959 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
24964 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
24971 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
24972 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
24974 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
24975 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
24976 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
24977 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
24980 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
24981 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
24982 Only applicable to spam groups.")
24984 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
24985 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
24986 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
24995 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
24996 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
24998 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
24999 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25000 variable customization.
25004 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25006 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25007 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25009 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25010 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25016 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25018 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25019 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25020 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25023 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25025 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25026 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25030 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25032 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25033 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25034 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25038 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25040 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25041 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25042 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25045 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25047 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25048 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25052 @code{spam-install-backend}
25054 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25055 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25056 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25059 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25061 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25062 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25063 never install such a back end.
25068 @node Spam Statistics Package
25069 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25070 @cindex Paul Graham
25071 @cindex Graham, Paul
25072 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25073 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25074 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25076 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25077 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25078 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25079 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25080 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25081 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25082 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25083 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25084 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25087 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25088 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25089 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25090 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25091 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25092 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25093 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25094 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25096 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25097 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25098 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25100 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25101 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25102 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25103 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25104 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25107 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25108 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25109 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25112 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25113 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25115 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25116 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25117 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25118 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25119 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25121 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25122 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25123 per mail. Use the following:
25125 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25126 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25127 is treated as one spam mail.
25130 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25131 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25132 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25135 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25136 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25137 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25138 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25139 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25140 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25142 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25143 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25144 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25145 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25146 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25149 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25150 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25151 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25152 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25155 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25156 reset the dictionary.
25158 @defun spam-stat-reset
25159 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25162 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25163 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25164 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25165 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25166 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25167 only non-spam mails.
25169 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25170 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25171 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25174 @defun spam-stat-save
25175 Save the dictionary.
25178 @defvar spam-stat-file
25179 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25180 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25183 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25184 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25186 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25187 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25189 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25192 (require 'spam-stat)
25196 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25199 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25200 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25201 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25202 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25204 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25205 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25206 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25207 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25210 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25211 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25215 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25216 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25219 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25220 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25221 expression are considered potential spam.
25224 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25225 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25226 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25230 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25231 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25232 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25233 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25234 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25237 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25238 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25239 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25243 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25244 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25245 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25246 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25247 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25251 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25252 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25253 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25254 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25259 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25260 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25262 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25264 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25265 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25266 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25269 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25270 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25271 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25274 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25275 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25276 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25277 already been processed as non-spam.
25280 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25281 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25282 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25283 been processed as spam.
25286 @defun spam-stat-save
25287 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25288 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25291 @defun spam-stat-load
25292 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25293 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25296 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25297 Return the spam score for a word.
25300 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25301 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25304 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25305 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25306 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25309 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25310 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25313 (require 'spam-stat)
25317 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25320 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25321 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25322 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25323 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25324 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25325 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25326 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25327 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25328 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25329 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25330 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25331 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25332 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25333 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25336 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25339 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25340 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25341 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25342 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25343 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25344 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25347 @node The Gnus Registry
25348 @section The Gnus Registry
25353 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
25354 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
25355 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
25356 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
25357 features are pretty cool.
25359 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
25360 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
25364 Split messages to their parent
25366 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
25367 the sender in addition to the Message-ID. Several strategies are
25371 Store custom flags and keywords
25373 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
25374 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
25375 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
25379 Store arbitrary data
25381 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
25382 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
25383 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
25388 * Fancy splitting to parent::
25389 * Store custom flags and keywords::
25390 * Store arbitrary data::
25396 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
25399 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500
25400 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t)
25402 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25405 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
25406 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
25407 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.) so
25408 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
25409 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
25411 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
25412 what they do before you copy them blindly).
25416 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
25417 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
25421 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
25422 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t
25423 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
25426 They say: keep a lot of messages around, use long group names, track
25427 messages by sender and subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when
25428 the registry splits incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where
25429 messages should go if there's more than one possibility. In addition,
25430 the registry should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'',
25431 ``nnrss'', ``spam'', or ``train.''
25433 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
25434 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
25435 the general settings.
25437 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
25438 The groups that will not be followed by
25439 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
25440 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
25443 @defvar gnus-registry-ignored-groups
25444 The groups that will not be remembered by the registry. This is a
25445 list of regular expressions, also available through Group/Topic
25446 customization (so you can ignore or keep a specific group or a whole
25450 @defvar gnus-registry-use-long-group-names
25451 Whether the registry will use long group names. It's recommended to
25452 set this to @code{t}, although everything works if you don't. Future
25453 functionality will require it.
25456 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
25457 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
25458 registry will keep.
25461 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
25462 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions.
25465 @node Fancy splitting to parent
25466 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
25468 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
25470 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
25471 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
25472 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
25475 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
25476 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
25477 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
25478 have to put a rule like this:
25481 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
25483 ;; split to parent: you need this
25484 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
25486 ;; other rules, as an example
25492 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
25493 following variables.
25495 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
25496 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
25497 Customize interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to
25498 track @code{subject} and @code{sender} as well when splitting by parent.
25499 It may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large and
25500 people don't stick to the same groups.
25503 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
25504 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
25505 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
25506 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
25507 the majority of matches or on the first found.
25510 @node Store custom flags and keywords
25511 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
25513 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
25514 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
25515 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
25517 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
25518 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
25519 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
25520 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
25521 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
25522 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
25524 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
25525 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
25526 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
25530 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
25531 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
25532 will offer the available marks for completion.
25535 @node Store arbitrary data
25536 @subsection Store arbitrary data
25538 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
25539 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
25542 @defun gnus-registry-store-extra-entry (id key value)
25543 Store @code{value} in the extra data key @code{key} for message
25547 @defun gnus-registry-delete-extra-entry (id key)
25548 Delete the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
25551 @defun gnus-registry-fetch-extra (id key)
25552 Get the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
25555 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
25556 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
25557 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
25558 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
25559 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
25564 @section Interaction with other modes
25569 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
25570 buffers. It is enabled with
25572 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25577 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25578 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
25579 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25580 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25583 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25584 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25585 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25589 @findex gnus-dired-print
25590 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25591 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25594 @node Various Various
25595 @section Various Various
25601 @item gnus-home-directory
25602 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25603 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25604 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25606 @item gnus-directory
25607 @vindex gnus-directory
25608 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25609 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25610 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25612 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
25613 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25614 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25615 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25617 @item gnus-default-directory
25618 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25619 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25620 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25621 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25622 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25623 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25624 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25627 @vindex gnus-verbose
25628 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25629 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25630 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25631 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25632 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25634 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25635 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25636 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25637 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25639 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
25640 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
25641 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
25642 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
25643 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
25644 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
25645 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
25646 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
25647 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
25648 displayed in the echo area.
25650 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25651 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25652 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25653 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25654 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25655 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25656 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25657 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25658 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25659 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25661 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25662 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25663 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25664 read when doing the operation described above.
25666 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25667 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25669 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25670 @cindex characters in file names
25671 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25672 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25673 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25677 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25682 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25683 Windows (phooey) systems.
25685 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25686 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25687 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25688 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25689 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25691 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25692 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25693 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25694 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25695 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25697 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25698 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25699 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25701 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25702 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25704 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25705 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25706 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25707 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25710 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25712 @item gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
25713 @vindex gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
25714 Groups in which links in html articles are considered all safe. The
25715 value may be a regexp matching those groups, a list of group names, or
25716 @code{nil}. This overrides @code{mm-w3m-safe-url-regexp}. The default
25717 value is @code{"\\`nnrss[+:]"}. This is effective only when emacs-w3m
25718 renders html articles, i.e., in the case @code{mm-text-html-renderer} is
25719 set to @code{w3m}. @xref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization,
25720 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}.
25727 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25728 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25730 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25732 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25738 Not because of victories @*
25741 but for the common sunshine,@*
25743 the largess of the spring.
25747 but for the day's work done@*
25748 as well as I was able;@*
25749 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25750 but at the common table.@*
25755 @chapter Appendices
25758 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25759 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25760 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25761 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25762 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25763 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25764 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25765 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25766 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25773 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25775 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25776 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25777 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25778 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25779 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25780 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25787 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25788 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25790 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25791 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25792 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25793 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25794 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25796 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25797 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25798 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25799 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25800 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25801 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25803 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25804 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25805 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25806 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25809 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25810 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25811 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25812 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25813 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25814 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25815 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25816 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25817 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25821 @node Gnus Versions
25822 @subsection Gnus Versions
25824 @cindex September Gnus
25826 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25827 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25830 @cindex Gnus versions
25832 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25833 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25834 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25836 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25837 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25839 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25840 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25842 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25843 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25845 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25846 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25849 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25850 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25852 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25854 On April 19, 2010 Gnus development was moved to Git. See
25855 http://git.gnus.org for details (http://www.gnus.org will be updated
25856 with the information when possible).
25858 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25859 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25860 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25861 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25862 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25863 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25866 @node Other Gnus Versions
25867 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25870 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25871 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25872 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25873 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25875 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25876 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25877 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25878 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25885 What's the point of Gnus?
25887 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25888 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25889 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25890 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25891 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25892 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25893 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25894 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25895 keep track of millions of people who post?
25897 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25898 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25899 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25900 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25901 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25902 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25903 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25904 every one of you to explore and invent.
25906 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25907 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25910 @node Compatibility
25911 @subsection Compatibility
25913 @cindex compatibility
25914 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25915 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25916 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25921 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25925 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25928 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25931 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25932 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25933 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25934 important variables have their values copied into their global
25935 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25936 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25938 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25939 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25940 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25941 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25942 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25946 @cindex highlighting
25947 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25948 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25949 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25950 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25951 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25952 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25955 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25956 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25957 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25958 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25960 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25961 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25962 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25963 to stop doing it the old way.
25965 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25967 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25969 @cindex reporting bugs
25971 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25972 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25973 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25975 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25976 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25977 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25978 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25983 @subsection Conformity
25985 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25986 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25994 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25998 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
26000 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
26001 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
26002 We do have some breaches to this one.
26008 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
26009 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
26010 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
26011 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
26012 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
26017 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
26018 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
26019 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
26020 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
26022 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
26023 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
26024 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
26026 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
26027 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
26029 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
26032 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
26033 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
26034 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
26035 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
26036 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26039 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
26040 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26041 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26042 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26044 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
26045 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26047 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26048 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26049 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26050 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26051 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26052 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26053 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26054 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26058 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26059 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26064 @subsection Emacsen
26070 This version of Gnus should work on:
26078 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26082 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26083 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26084 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26085 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26087 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
26090 @node Gnus Development
26091 @subsection Gnus Development
26093 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26094 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
26095 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26096 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26097 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26098 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26099 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26100 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
26102 After futzing around for 10-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26103 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26104 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
26105 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26106 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
26107 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
26108 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
26112 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26113 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26114 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26115 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26116 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26118 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26119 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26120 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26121 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26122 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26123 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26124 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26125 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26126 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26127 can't be assumed to do so.
26129 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
26130 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
26131 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
26134 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26135 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26136 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26137 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26138 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26141 @subsection Contributors
26142 @cindex contributors
26144 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26145 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26146 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26147 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26148 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26149 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26150 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26151 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26152 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26153 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26155 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26161 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26164 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el,
26165 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26166 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26167 functionality and stuff.
26170 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26171 well as numerous other things).
26174 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26177 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26180 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26183 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26186 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26187 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26190 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26193 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26196 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26199 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26202 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
26205 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26208 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26209 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26212 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26215 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26218 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26221 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26225 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26228 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26231 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26234 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26235 well as autoconf support.
26239 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26240 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26242 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26257 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26259 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26263 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26273 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26288 Massimo Campostrini,
26293 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26294 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26298 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26301 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26307 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26312 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26316 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26324 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26326 Michelangelo Grigni,
26330 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26332 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26334 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26342 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26343 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26344 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26346 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26356 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26357 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26359 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26360 Thor Kristoffersen,
26363 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26381 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26382 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26389 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26394 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26398 John McClary Prevost,
26404 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26409 Christian von Roques,
26412 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26419 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26421 Randal L. Schwartz,
26435 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26440 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26460 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26461 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26462 (550kB and counting).
26464 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26467 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26468 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26472 @subsection New Features
26473 @cindex new features
26476 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26477 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26478 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26479 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26480 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26481 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26482 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26485 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26486 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26487 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26490 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26492 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26497 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26498 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26501 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26502 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26505 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26508 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26509 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26510 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26513 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26514 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26515 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26516 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26519 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26520 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26523 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26524 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26525 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26528 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26529 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
26532 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
26533 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
26534 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26537 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
26538 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
26539 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
26542 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
26543 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
26546 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
26547 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
26550 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
26551 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26554 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
26555 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
26558 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
26559 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26562 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
26565 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
26566 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
26569 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
26570 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
26573 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
26574 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26577 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26580 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26581 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26584 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26588 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26592 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26593 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26598 @node September Gnus
26599 @subsubsection September Gnus
26603 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26607 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26612 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26613 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26617 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26618 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26622 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26626 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26627 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26630 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26634 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26637 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26640 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26643 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26647 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26648 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26651 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26655 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26659 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26663 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26667 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26670 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26671 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26674 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26678 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26679 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26682 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26685 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26686 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26687 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26690 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets.
26693 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26696 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26700 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26701 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26704 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26705 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26708 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26709 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26712 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26713 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26714 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26717 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26718 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26721 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26724 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26727 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26730 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26733 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26734 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26737 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26741 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26744 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26749 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26752 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26756 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26759 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26762 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26763 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26766 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26767 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26771 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26772 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26775 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26779 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26780 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26783 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26786 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26790 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26794 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26795 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26798 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26802 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26803 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26806 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26807 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26810 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26814 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26817 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26820 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26826 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26828 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26832 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26839 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26842 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26843 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26846 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26847 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26851 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26852 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26855 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26858 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26859 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26862 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26866 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26867 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26871 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26872 Server Internals}).
26875 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26879 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26882 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26883 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26886 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26887 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26888 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26891 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26892 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26895 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26896 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26899 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26903 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26904 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26907 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26908 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26911 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26915 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26918 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26922 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26923 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26926 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26927 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26930 A new command for reading collections of documents
26931 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26932 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26935 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26939 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26940 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26943 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26944 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26945 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26948 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26949 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26953 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26957 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26961 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26966 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26970 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26974 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26975 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26978 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26984 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26986 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26991 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26992 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26993 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26996 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26997 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26998 group, which is created automatically.
27001 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
27005 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
27008 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
27009 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
27012 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
27016 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
27019 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
27020 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
27023 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
27026 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
27030 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27031 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27034 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27035 control over simplification.
27038 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27041 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27045 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27048 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27051 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27052 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27053 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27056 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27057 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27060 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27064 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27065 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27068 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27069 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27072 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27076 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27079 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27082 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27083 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27086 A new function for citing in Message has been
27087 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27090 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27093 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27097 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27098 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27101 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27102 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27105 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27108 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27112 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27113 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27115 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27120 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27121 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27123 If you used procmail like in
27126 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27127 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27128 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27129 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27132 this now has changed to
27136 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27140 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27143 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27144 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27147 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27148 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27151 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27152 called to position point.
27155 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27156 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27159 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27160 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27163 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27164 subtly different manner.
27167 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27168 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27169 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27172 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27177 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27180 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27184 @item Installation changes
27185 @c ***********************
27189 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27191 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27192 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27193 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27194 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27195 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27196 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27197 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27198 isn't save in general.
27201 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27202 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27203 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27204 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27205 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27206 remove-installed-shadows}.
27209 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27211 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27212 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27213 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
27214 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27215 the second parameter.
27217 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27218 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
27219 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27220 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27221 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27222 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27223 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27224 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27225 cycle used under Unix systems.
27227 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27228 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27231 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27233 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27234 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27237 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27238 @c the repository. We should find a better place for this item.
27240 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27242 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27243 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27244 lisp directory into load-path.
27246 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27247 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27251 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27252 @c *****************************************
27257 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27258 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27261 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27263 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27264 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS.
27267 Improved anti-spam features.
27269 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27270 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27271 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27272 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27273 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27274 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27277 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27279 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27280 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27281 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27282 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27283 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27287 @item Changes in group mode
27288 @c ************************
27293 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27297 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27299 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27300 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27303 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27305 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27306 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27307 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27308 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27309 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27312 (setq gnus-parameters
27314 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27315 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27316 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27317 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27321 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27323 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27324 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27325 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27326 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27327 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27328 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27329 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27330 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27331 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27334 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27336 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27337 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27338 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27341 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27342 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27344 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27345 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27346 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27348 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27352 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
27353 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
27354 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
27358 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27359 @c **************************************
27364 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27365 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27366 region if the region is active.
27369 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27370 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27375 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27376 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27377 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27378 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27381 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27386 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27387 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27389 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27390 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27394 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27395 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27398 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27401 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27402 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27405 Warn about email replies to news
27407 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27408 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27412 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27413 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27417 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27418 opposed to old but unread messages).
27421 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27422 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27425 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27426 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27429 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27430 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27433 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27435 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27436 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27437 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27438 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27441 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27442 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27443 Outlook (Express) articles.
27446 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27448 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27449 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27450 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27451 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27453 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27454 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27455 message cited below.
27458 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27461 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27465 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27468 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27469 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27472 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27475 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27477 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27478 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27479 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27480 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27481 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27485 Deleting of attachments.
27487 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27488 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27489 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27490 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27491 that support editing.
27494 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27496 The default value is determined from the
27497 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27498 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27499 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27502 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27504 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27505 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27506 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27509 Extended format specs.
27511 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27512 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27513 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27514 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27515 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27516 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27519 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27520 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27522 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27523 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27524 out other articles.
27527 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27529 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27530 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27531 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27532 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27535 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27539 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
27540 @c ****************************************************
27547 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
27548 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
27549 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
27552 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
27553 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
27556 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
27557 Gcc articles as read.
27560 Externalizing of attachments
27562 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
27563 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
27564 local files as external parts.
27567 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
27568 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
27571 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
27573 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
27574 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
27575 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
27576 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
27577 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
27578 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
27579 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
27580 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
27581 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
27584 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
27586 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
27587 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
27588 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
27589 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
27590 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
27591 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
27594 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
27595 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
27599 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
27602 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
27604 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
27605 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
27606 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
27607 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
27608 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
27609 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
27610 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
27611 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
27612 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
27613 was inserted directly.
27616 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
27618 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
27619 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
27620 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
27621 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
27622 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
27625 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
27627 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
27629 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
27630 'bbdb-complete-name)
27634 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27636 Add a new format of match like
27638 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27639 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27641 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27643 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27644 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27648 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27650 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27651 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27652 need add those two headers too.
27655 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27656 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27657 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27661 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27662 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27663 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
27664 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27665 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
27668 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27670 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27673 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27675 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27679 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27681 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27682 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27683 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27684 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27685 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27686 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27687 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27688 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27691 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27692 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27694 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27695 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27696 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27697 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27700 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27703 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27704 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27707 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
27710 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27711 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27712 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27713 invalidate the digital signature.
27716 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
27717 decompressed when activated.
27718 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
27721 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
27723 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
27724 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
27725 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
27726 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
27727 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
27730 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
27731 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
27732 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
27733 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
27735 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
27736 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
27737 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
27738 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
27742 @item Changes in back ends
27743 @c ***********************
27747 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
27750 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
27753 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27755 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27758 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27760 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27761 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27762 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27763 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27764 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27765 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27766 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27767 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27768 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27769 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27770 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27780 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27781 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27784 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27785 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27786 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27787 message, Message Manual}).
27790 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
27791 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
27792 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
27793 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
27795 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
27796 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
27797 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
27802 @item Miscellaneous changes
27803 @c ************************
27810 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
27811 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
27812 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
27813 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
27814 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
27815 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
27816 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
27817 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
27818 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
27819 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
27820 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
27821 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
27822 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
27823 is not needed any more.
27826 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27828 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27829 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27830 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27835 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
27836 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
27837 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
27841 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
27844 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
27846 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
27853 @subsubsection No Gnus
27856 New features in No Gnus:
27857 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27859 @include gnus-news.texi
27865 @section The Manual
27869 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27870 either @code{texi2dvi}
27872 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27873 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27875 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27877 The following conventions have been used:
27882 This is a @samp{string}
27885 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27888 This is a @file{file}
27891 This is a @code{symbol}
27895 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27899 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27902 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27905 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27908 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27909 ever get them confused.
27913 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27914 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27915 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27916 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27917 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27918 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27919 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27925 @node On Writing Manuals
27926 @section On Writing Manuals
27928 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27929 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27930 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27931 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27932 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27933 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
27936 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27937 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27938 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27941 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27942 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
27947 @section Terminology
27949 @cindex terminology
27954 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27955 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27956 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27957 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27958 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27962 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27963 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27964 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27965 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27969 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27973 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27978 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27979 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27980 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27981 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27982 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27983 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27984 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27985 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27986 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27989 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27990 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27991 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27992 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27993 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27994 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27996 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27997 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27998 access the articles.
28000 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
28001 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
28002 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
28007 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
28008 default, way of getting news.
28012 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
28013 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
28018 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
28019 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
28023 A message that has been posted as news.
28026 @cindex mail message
28027 A message that has been mailed.
28031 A mail message or news article
28035 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
28040 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28045 A line from the head of an article.
28049 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28050 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28052 @item @acronym{NOV}
28053 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28054 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
28055 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
28056 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
28057 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
28058 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
28060 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28061 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28062 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28063 normal @sc{head} format.
28065 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
28066 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
28067 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
28068 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
28069 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
28072 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
28073 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
28074 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
28075 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
28076 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
28077 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
28078 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
28082 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
28083 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28084 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
28085 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28086 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28087 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28089 @item killed groups
28090 @cindex killed groups
28091 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28092 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28094 @item zombie groups
28095 @cindex zombie groups
28096 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28099 @cindex active file
28100 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28101 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28102 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28105 @cindex bogus groups
28106 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28107 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28108 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28111 @cindex activating groups
28112 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28113 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28114 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28118 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28119 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28120 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28124 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28126 @item select method
28127 @cindex select method
28128 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28131 @item virtual server
28132 @cindex virtual server
28133 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28134 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28135 whole is a virtual server.
28139 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28140 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28143 @item ephemeral groups
28144 @cindex ephemeral groups
28145 @cindex temporary groups
28146 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28147 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28148 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28151 @cindex solid groups
28152 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28153 group buffer are solid groups.
28155 @item sparse articles
28156 @cindex sparse articles
28157 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28158 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28162 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28163 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28167 @cindex thread root
28168 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28169 articles in the thread.
28173 An article that has responses.
28177 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28181 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28182 specified by RFC 1153.
28185 @cindex splitting, terminology
28186 @cindex mail sorting
28187 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28188 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28189 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28195 @node Customization
28196 @section Customization
28197 @cindex general customization
28199 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28200 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28201 for some quite common situations.
28204 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28205 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28206 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28207 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28211 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28212 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
28214 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28215 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28216 Gnus has to get from the server.
28220 @item gnus-read-active-file
28221 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28222 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28223 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28224 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28225 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28227 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28228 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
28229 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
28230 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
28231 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
28232 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
28233 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
28234 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
28235 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
28236 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
28237 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
28239 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
28240 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
28241 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
28242 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, and @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}. Note that a
28243 non-@code{nil} value for @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those
28248 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28249 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28251 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28252 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28253 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28257 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28258 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28259 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28260 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28261 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28263 @item gnus-visible-headers
28264 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28265 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28266 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28267 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28269 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28271 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28272 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28273 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28276 @item gnus-use-full-window
28277 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28278 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28279 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28280 want to read them anyway.
28282 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28283 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28287 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28288 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28289 lines, which might save some time.
28293 @node Little Disk Space
28294 @subsection Little Disk Space
28297 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28298 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28302 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28303 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28304 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28305 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28308 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28309 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28310 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28311 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28314 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28315 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28316 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28317 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28318 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28324 @subsection Slow Machine
28325 @cindex slow machine
28327 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28328 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28330 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28331 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28333 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28334 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28335 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
28339 @node Troubleshooting
28340 @section Troubleshooting
28341 @cindex troubleshooting
28343 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28351 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28354 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28355 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28359 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28361 @samp{No Gnus v0.10} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
28363 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
28364 files lying around. Delete these.
28367 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28368 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28371 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28372 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28373 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28374 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28375 something like that.
28378 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28381 @cindex reporting bugs
28383 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28385 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28386 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28387 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28388 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28390 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28391 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28392 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28393 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28396 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28397 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28398 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28399 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28400 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28401 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28403 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28404 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28405 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28409 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28410 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28413 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28414 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28415 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28416 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28417 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28418 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28419 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28420 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28421 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28422 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28423 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28424 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28425 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28426 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28431 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28432 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28433 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28434 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28435 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28437 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28438 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28439 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28440 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28441 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28442 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28443 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28444 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28445 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28446 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28447 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28448 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28449 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28452 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28453 @cindex ding mailing list
28454 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28455 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28456 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28457 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28461 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28462 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28464 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28465 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28466 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28467 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28470 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28471 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28472 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28473 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28474 and general methods of operation.
28477 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28478 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28479 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28480 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28481 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28482 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28483 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28484 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28485 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28489 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28490 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28491 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28492 @cindex utility functions
28494 @cindex internal variables
28496 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28497 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28498 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28502 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28503 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28504 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28506 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28507 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28508 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28510 @item gnus-group-real-name
28511 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28512 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28515 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28516 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28517 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28518 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28520 @item gnus-get-info
28521 @findex gnus-get-info
28522 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28524 @item gnus-group-unread
28525 @findex gnus-group-unread
28526 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
28530 @findex gnus-active
28531 The active entry for @var{group}.
28533 @item gnus-set-active
28534 @findex gnus-set-active
28535 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
28537 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28538 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28539 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
28542 @item gnus-continuum-version
28543 @findex gnus-continuum-version
28544 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
28545 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
28548 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
28549 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
28550 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
28552 @item gnus-news-group-p
28553 @findex gnus-news-group-p
28554 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
28556 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28557 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28558 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
28560 @item gnus-server-to-method
28561 @findex gnus-server-to-method
28562 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
28564 @item gnus-server-equal
28565 @findex gnus-server-equal
28566 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
28568 @item gnus-group-native-p
28569 @findex gnus-group-native-p
28570 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
28572 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
28573 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
28574 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
28576 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
28577 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
28578 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
28580 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
28581 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
28582 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
28583 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
28585 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
28586 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
28587 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
28589 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
28590 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
28591 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
28593 @item gnus-check-backend-function
28594 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
28595 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
28596 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
28599 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
28603 @item gnus-read-method
28604 @findex gnus-read-method
28605 Prompts the user for a select method.
28610 @node Back End Interface
28611 @subsection Back End Interface
28613 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
28614 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
28615 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
28616 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
28617 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
28618 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
28620 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
28621 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
28622 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
28623 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
28624 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
28625 been opened, the function should fail.
28627 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
28628 name. Take this example:
28632 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
28633 (nntp-port-number 4324))
28636 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
28637 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
28639 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
28640 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
28641 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
28643 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
28644 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
28645 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
28647 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
28648 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
28649 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
28650 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
28651 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
28652 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
28655 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
28656 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
28657 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
28658 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
28661 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
28662 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
28663 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
28664 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
28665 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
28666 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
28667 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
28668 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
28669 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
28670 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
28672 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
28673 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
28674 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
28675 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
28676 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
28677 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
28678 of numbers as long as possible.
28680 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
28681 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
28682 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
28684 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
28687 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
28690 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
28691 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
28692 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
28693 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
28694 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
28695 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28699 @node Required Back End Functions
28700 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28704 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28706 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28707 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28708 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28709 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28711 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28712 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28713 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28714 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28716 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28717 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28718 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28719 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28720 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28721 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28722 number, do maximum fetches.
28724 Here's an example HEAD:
28727 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28728 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28729 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28730 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28731 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28732 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28733 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28735 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28736 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28737 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28741 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28742 these in the data buffer.
28744 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28748 head = error / valid-head
28749 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28750 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28751 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28752 header = <text> eol
28756 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28758 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28759 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28763 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28764 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28765 field = <text except TAB>
28768 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28772 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28774 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28775 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28777 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28778 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28779 server. In fact, it should do so.
28781 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28782 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28785 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28787 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28788 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28791 There should be no data returned.
28794 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28796 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28797 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28798 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28799 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28801 There should be no data returned.
28804 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28806 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28807 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28808 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28809 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28811 There should be no data returned.
28814 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28816 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28818 There should be no data returned.
28821 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28823 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28824 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28825 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28826 it would be nice if that were possible.
28828 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28829 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28830 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28831 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28832 into its article buffer.
28834 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28835 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28836 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28837 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28838 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28839 on successful article retrieval.
28842 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST INFO)
28844 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28845 making @var{group} the current group.
28847 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28850 If @var{info}, it allows the backend to update the group info
28853 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28856 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28859 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28860 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28861 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28862 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28863 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28864 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28865 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28866 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28867 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28871 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28872 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28873 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28877 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28879 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28880 a no-op on most back ends.
28882 There should be no data returned.
28885 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28887 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28890 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28893 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28894 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28897 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28898 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28899 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28900 and the highest as 0.
28903 active-file = *active-line
28904 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28906 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28909 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28910 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28911 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28914 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28916 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28917 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28918 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28919 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28920 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28921 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28923 There should be no result data from this function.
28928 @node Optional Back End Functions
28929 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28933 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28935 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28936 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28937 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28939 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28940 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28941 former is in the same format as the data from
28942 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28943 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28946 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28950 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28952 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28953 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28954 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28955 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28956 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28957 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28958 the network resources).
28960 There should be no result data from this function.
28963 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28965 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28966 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28967 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28968 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28969 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28970 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28971 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28972 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28974 There should be no result data from this function.
28977 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28979 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28980 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28981 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28982 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28983 propagate the mark information to the server.
28985 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28988 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28991 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28992 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28993 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28994 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28995 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28996 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28997 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28998 possible, not limit itself to these.
29000 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
29001 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
29002 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
29003 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
29005 An example action list:
29008 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
29009 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
29010 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
29013 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
29014 mark on (currently not used for anything).
29016 There should be no result data from this function.
29018 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
29020 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
29021 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
29022 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
29023 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
29024 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
29026 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
29027 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
29028 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
29031 There should be no result data from this function.
29034 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
29036 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
29037 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
29038 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
29039 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
29040 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
29041 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
29042 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
29043 local if that's practical.
29045 There should be no result data from this function.
29048 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
29050 The result data from this function should be a description of
29054 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
29056 description = <text>
29059 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
29061 The result data from this function should be the description of all
29062 groups available on the server.
29065 description-buffer = *description-line
29069 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
29071 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
29072 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
29073 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
29074 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
29075 in the active buffer format.
29077 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
29078 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
29079 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
29080 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
29081 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29082 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29083 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29086 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29088 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29090 There should be no return data.
29093 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29095 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29096 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29097 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29098 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29099 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29102 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29105 There should be no result data returned.
29108 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29110 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29111 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29113 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29114 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29115 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29116 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29117 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29118 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29120 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29121 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29124 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29125 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29127 There should be no data returned.
29130 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29132 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29133 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29134 this function in short order.
29136 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29137 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29139 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29140 article for that group.
29142 There should be no data returned.
29145 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29147 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29148 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29150 There should be no data returned.
29153 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29155 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29156 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29157 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29159 There should be no data returned.
29162 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29164 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29165 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29167 There should be no data returned.
29172 @node Error Messaging
29173 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29175 @findex nnheader-report
29176 @findex nnheader-get-report
29177 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29178 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29179 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29180 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29181 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29182 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29185 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29187 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29190 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29191 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29192 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29193 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29195 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29196 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29197 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29200 @node Writing New Back Ends
29201 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29203 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29204 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29205 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29206 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29207 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29210 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29211 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29212 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29214 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29215 package called @code{nnoo}.
29217 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29218 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29224 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29225 parameters. For instance:
29228 (nnoo-declare nndir
29232 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29233 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29236 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29237 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29238 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29240 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29241 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29242 a function in those back ends.
29245 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29246 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29247 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29250 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29251 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29252 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29254 @item nnoo-define-basics
29255 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29259 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29263 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29264 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29265 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29267 @item nnoo-map-functions
29268 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29269 functions from the parent back ends.
29272 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29273 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29274 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29277 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29278 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29279 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29280 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29283 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29284 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29285 haven't already been defined.
29291 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29295 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29296 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29297 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29302 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29305 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29306 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29310 (require 'nnheader)
29314 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29316 (nnoo-declare nndir
29319 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29320 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29321 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29323 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29324 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29327 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29329 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29330 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29331 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29333 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29334 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29336 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29338 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29340 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29341 (setq nndir-directory
29342 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29344 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29345 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29346 (push `(nndir-current-group
29347 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29348 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29350 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29351 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29353 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29355 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29356 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29357 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29358 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29359 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29363 nnmh-status-message
29365 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29371 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29372 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29374 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29375 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29376 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29377 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29378 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29380 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29381 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29386 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29389 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29391 The abilities can be:
29395 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29397 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29399 This back end supports both mail and news.
29401 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29404 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29405 articles and groups.
29407 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29408 true for almost all back ends.
29409 @item prompt-address
29410 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29411 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29412 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29416 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29417 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29419 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29420 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29421 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29422 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29425 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29426 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29427 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29430 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29431 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29434 This function takes four parameters.
29438 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29441 @item exit-function
29442 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29444 @item temp-directory
29445 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29448 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29449 performed for one group only.
29452 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29453 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29454 find the article number assigned to this article.
29456 The function also uses the following variables:
29457 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29458 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29459 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29460 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29464 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29465 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29469 @node Score File Syntax
29470 @subsection Score File Syntax
29472 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29473 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29474 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29476 Here's a typical score file:
29480 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29487 BNF definition of a score file:
29490 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29491 element = rule / atom
29492 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29493 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29494 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29495 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29497 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29498 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29499 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29500 date-header = "date"
29501 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29502 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29503 score = "nil" / <integer>
29504 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29505 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29506 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29507 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29508 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29509 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29510 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29511 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29512 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29513 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29514 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29515 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29516 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29517 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29518 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29519 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29520 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29521 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29522 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29523 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29524 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29525 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29526 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29527 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29528 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29529 eval = "eval" space <form>
29530 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
29533 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
29536 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
29537 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
29538 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
29539 one looong line, then that's ok.
29541 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
29542 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
29546 @subsection Headers
29548 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
29549 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
29550 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
29551 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
29553 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
29554 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
29555 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
29556 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
29557 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
29558 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
29559 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
29561 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
29562 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
29563 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
29564 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
29565 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
29567 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
29568 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
29574 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
29575 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
29577 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
29578 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
29579 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
29580 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
29582 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
29586 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
29589 is transformed into
29592 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
29595 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
29596 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
29599 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
29602 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
29603 is slightly tricky:
29606 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
29612 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
29615 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
29621 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
29628 and is equal to the previous range.
29630 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
29631 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
29632 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
29636 range = simple-range / normal-range
29637 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
29638 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
29639 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
29640 number *[ " " contents ]
29643 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
29644 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
29645 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
29646 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
29647 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
29652 @subsection Group Info
29654 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
29655 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
29656 describes the group.
29658 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
29659 second is a more complex one:
29662 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
29664 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
29665 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
29667 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
29670 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
29671 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
29672 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
29673 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
29674 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
29675 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
29676 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
29677 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
29678 this section is about.
29680 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
29681 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
29682 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
29684 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
29687 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
29688 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
29689 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29690 group = quote <string> quote
29691 ralevel = rank / level
29692 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29693 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
29694 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29696 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
29697 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
29698 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
29699 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29702 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29703 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29706 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29707 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29710 @item gnus-info-group
29711 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29712 @findex gnus-info-group
29713 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29714 Get/set the group name.
29716 @item gnus-info-rank
29717 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29718 @findex gnus-info-rank
29719 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29720 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29722 @item gnus-info-level
29723 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29724 @findex gnus-info-level
29725 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29726 Get/set the group level.
29728 @item gnus-info-score
29729 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29730 @findex gnus-info-score
29731 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29732 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29734 @item gnus-info-read
29735 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29736 @findex gnus-info-read
29737 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29738 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29740 @item gnus-info-marks
29741 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29742 @findex gnus-info-marks
29743 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29744 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29746 @item gnus-info-method
29747 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29748 @findex gnus-info-method
29749 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29750 Get/set the group select method.
29752 @item gnus-info-params
29753 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29754 @findex gnus-info-params
29755 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29756 Get/set the group parameters.
29759 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29760 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29762 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29763 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29764 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29765 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29768 @node Extended Interactive
29769 @subsection Extended Interactive
29770 @cindex interactive
29771 @findex gnus-interactive
29773 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29774 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29775 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29778 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29779 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29784 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29785 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29786 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29787 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29788 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29789 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29790 @code{interactive}.
29792 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29797 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29798 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29802 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29803 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29804 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29807 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29811 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29815 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29821 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29822 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29826 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29827 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29828 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29830 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29831 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29832 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29833 Gnus, that's very useful.
29835 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29836 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29837 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29838 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29839 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29840 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29841 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29842 following function:
29845 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29849 (,function ,@@args))
29853 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29854 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29855 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29858 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29859 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29860 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29862 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29863 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29864 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29867 @node Various File Formats
29868 @subsection Various File Formats
29871 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29872 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29876 @node Active File Format
29877 @subsubsection Active File Format
29879 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29880 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29883 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29886 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29887 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29888 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29889 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29890 no.general 1000 900 y
29893 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29896 active = *group-line
29897 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29898 group = <non-white-space string>
29900 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29901 low-number = <positive integer>
29902 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29905 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29906 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29909 @node Newsgroups File Format
29910 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29912 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29913 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29914 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29917 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29918 Here's the definition:
29922 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29923 group = <non-white-space string>
29925 description = <string>
29930 @node Emacs for Heathens
29931 @section Emacs for Heathens
29933 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29934 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29935 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29936 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29937 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29938 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29939 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29943 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29944 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29949 @subsection Keystrokes
29953 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29956 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29959 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29960 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29961 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29962 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29963 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29964 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29966 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29967 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29968 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29969 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29970 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29971 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29972 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29974 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29975 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29976 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29977 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29978 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29979 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29980 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29982 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29983 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29984 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29985 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29986 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29992 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29994 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29995 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29996 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29997 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29999 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
30000 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
30001 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
30002 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
30003 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
30004 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
30005 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
30006 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
30007 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
30008 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
30010 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
30011 write the following:
30014 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
30017 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
30018 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
30019 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
30020 change how Gnus works.
30022 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
30023 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
30024 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
30025 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
30026 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
30028 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
30029 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
30030 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
30034 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
30038 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
30041 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
30042 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
30045 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
30048 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
30049 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
30052 @include gnus-faq.texi
30054 @node GNU Free Documentation License
30055 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
30056 @include doclicense.texi
30074 @c Local Variables:
30076 @c coding: iso-8859-1