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335 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
340 @setchapternewpage odd
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 @top The Gnus Newsreader
359 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
360 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
361 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
364 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
365 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.5.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
407 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
408 * Key Index:: Key Index.
410 Other related manuals
412 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
413 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
414 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
415 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
416 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
419 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
423 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
424 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
425 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
426 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
427 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
428 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
429 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
430 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
431 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
432 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
433 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
437 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
438 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
439 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
443 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
444 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
445 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
446 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
447 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
448 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
449 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
450 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
451 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
452 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
453 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
454 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
455 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
456 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
457 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
458 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
459 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
463 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
464 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
465 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
469 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
470 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
471 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
472 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
473 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
477 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
478 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
479 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
480 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
481 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
485 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
486 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
487 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
488 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
489 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
490 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
491 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
492 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
493 * Threading:: How threads are made.
494 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
495 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
496 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
497 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
498 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
499 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
500 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
501 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
502 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
503 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
504 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
505 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
506 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
507 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
508 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
509 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
510 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
511 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
512 or reselecting the current group.
513 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
514 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
515 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
516 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
518 Summary Buffer Format
520 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
521 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
522 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
523 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
527 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
528 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
530 Reply, Followup and Post
532 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
533 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
534 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
535 * Canceling and Superseding::
539 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
540 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
541 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
542 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
543 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
544 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
548 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
549 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
551 Customizing Threading
553 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
554 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
555 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
556 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
560 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
561 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
562 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
563 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
564 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
565 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
569 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
570 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
571 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
575 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
576 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
577 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
578 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
579 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
580 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
581 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
582 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
583 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
584 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
585 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
587 Alternative Approaches
589 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
590 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
592 Various Summary Stuff
594 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
595 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
596 * Summary Generation Commands::
597 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
601 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
602 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
603 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
604 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
605 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
609 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
610 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
611 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
612 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
613 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
614 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
615 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
616 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
617 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
621 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
622 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
623 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
624 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
625 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
626 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
627 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
628 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
629 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
633 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
634 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
635 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
636 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
637 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
638 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
639 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
643 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
644 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
648 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
649 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
650 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
651 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
655 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
656 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
657 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
658 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
659 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
660 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
661 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
662 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
663 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
664 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
665 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
666 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
667 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
671 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
672 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
673 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
675 Choosing a Mail Back End
677 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
678 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
679 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
680 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
681 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
682 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
683 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
688 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
689 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
690 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
691 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
692 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
693 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
697 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
698 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
699 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
700 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
701 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
702 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
706 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
707 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
708 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
709 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
710 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
714 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
718 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
719 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
720 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
724 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
725 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
729 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
730 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
731 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
735 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
736 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
737 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
739 The Gnus Diary Library
741 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
742 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
743 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
744 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
748 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
749 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
750 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
751 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
752 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
753 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
754 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
755 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
756 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
757 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
758 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
759 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
760 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
761 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
765 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
766 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
767 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
771 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
772 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
773 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
777 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
778 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
779 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
780 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
781 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
782 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
783 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
784 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
785 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
786 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
787 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
788 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
789 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
790 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
791 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
792 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
796 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
797 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
798 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
802 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
803 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
804 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
805 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
806 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
807 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
808 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
809 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
810 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
811 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
812 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
813 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
814 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
815 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
816 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
817 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
818 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
819 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
820 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
821 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
822 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
826 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
827 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
828 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
829 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
830 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
831 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
832 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
833 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
837 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
838 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
839 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
841 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
842 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
846 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
847 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
848 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
849 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
853 * Spam Package Introduction::
854 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
855 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
856 * Spam and Ham Processors::
857 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
859 * Extending the Spam package::
860 * Spam Statistics Package::
862 Spam Statistics Package
864 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
865 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
866 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
870 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
871 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
872 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
873 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
874 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
875 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
876 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
877 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
878 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
882 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
883 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
884 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
885 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
886 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
887 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
888 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
889 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
890 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
894 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
895 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
896 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
897 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
898 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
899 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
900 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
904 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
905 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
906 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
907 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
911 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
912 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
913 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
914 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
915 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
916 * Group Info:: The group info format.
917 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
918 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
919 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
923 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
924 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
925 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
926 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
927 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
928 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
932 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
933 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
937 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
938 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
944 @chapter Starting Gnus
947 If you are haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs
952 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
953 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
954 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
955 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
956 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
957 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
959 @findex gnus-other-frame
960 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
961 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
962 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
964 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
965 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
966 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
968 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
969 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
972 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
973 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
974 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
975 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
976 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
977 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
978 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
979 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
980 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
981 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
985 @node Finding the News
986 @section Finding the News
989 @vindex gnus-select-method
991 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
992 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
993 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
994 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
997 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
998 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1001 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1004 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1007 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1010 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1011 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1012 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1013 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1015 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1017 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1018 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1019 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1020 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1021 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1022 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1023 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1025 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1026 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1027 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1028 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1030 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1031 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1032 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1033 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1034 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1035 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1036 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1037 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1038 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1041 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1043 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1044 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1045 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1046 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1047 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1048 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1050 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1052 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1053 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1054 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1055 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1056 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1057 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1060 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1061 you would typically set this variable to
1064 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1067 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1068 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1069 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1070 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1073 @node The First Time
1074 @section The First Time
1075 @cindex first time usage
1077 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1078 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1080 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1081 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1082 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1083 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1086 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1087 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1088 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1090 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1091 help you with most common problems.
1093 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1094 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1098 @node The Server is Down
1099 @section The Server is Down
1100 @cindex server errors
1102 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1103 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1104 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1106 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1107 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1108 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1109 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1110 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1111 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1112 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1114 @findex gnus-no-server
1115 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1117 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1118 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1119 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1120 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1121 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1122 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1123 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1127 @section Slave Gnusae
1130 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1131 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1132 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1133 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1135 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1136 @file{.newsrc} file.
1138 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1139 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1140 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1141 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1142 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1143 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1144 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1147 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1148 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1149 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1150 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1151 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1152 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1153 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1154 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1156 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1157 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1159 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1160 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1161 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1162 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1163 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1170 @cindex subscription
1172 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1173 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1174 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1175 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1176 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1177 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1178 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1179 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1180 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1183 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1184 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1185 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1189 @node Checking New Groups
1190 @subsection Checking New Groups
1192 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1193 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1194 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1195 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1196 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1197 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1198 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1199 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1200 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1201 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1203 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1204 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1205 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1206 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1207 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1208 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1209 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1210 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1211 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1212 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1213 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1215 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1216 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1217 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1218 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1219 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1220 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1223 @node Subscription Methods
1224 @subsection Subscription Methods
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1227 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1228 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1230 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1231 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1233 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1239 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1240 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1241 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1245 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1246 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1250 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1254 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1255 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1256 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1257 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1258 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1259 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1260 up. Or something like that.
1262 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1263 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1264 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1265 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1266 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1268 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1270 Kill all new groups.
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1274 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1275 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1276 topic parameter that looks like
1282 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1285 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1290 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1291 A closely related variable is
1292 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1293 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1294 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1295 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1298 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1299 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1300 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1301 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1304 @node Filtering New Groups
1305 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1307 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1308 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1309 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1312 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1315 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1316 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1317 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1318 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1319 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1320 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1321 subscribing these groups.
1322 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1323 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1325 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1326 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1327 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1328 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1329 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1330 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1331 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1332 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1334 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1335 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1336 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1337 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1338 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1339 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1340 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1341 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1342 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1343 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1346 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1347 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1350 @node Changing Servers
1351 @section Changing Servers
1352 @cindex changing servers
1354 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1355 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1356 very flaky and you want to use another.
1358 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1359 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1363 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1364 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1365 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1366 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1369 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1370 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1371 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1372 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1374 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1375 @findex gnus-change-server
1376 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1377 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1378 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1379 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1380 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1382 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1383 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1384 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1385 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1386 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1388 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1389 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1390 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1391 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1392 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1393 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1395 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1396 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1397 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1398 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1400 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1401 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1402 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1403 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1404 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1405 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1406 cache for all groups).
1410 @section Startup Files
1411 @cindex startup files
1416 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1417 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1418 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1421 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1422 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1423 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1424 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1425 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1426 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1427 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1429 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1430 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1431 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1432 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1433 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1434 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1436 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1437 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1438 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1439 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1440 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1441 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1442 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1443 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1444 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1445 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1446 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1449 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1450 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1451 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1452 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1453 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1454 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1455 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1456 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1457 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1458 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1459 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1460 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1462 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1463 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1464 @vindex version-control
1465 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1466 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1467 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1468 If you want version control for this file, set
1469 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1470 @code{version-control} variable.
1472 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1473 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1474 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1475 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1476 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1477 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1478 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1479 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1480 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1481 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1484 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1485 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1487 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1488 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1491 @vindex gnus-init-file
1492 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1493 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1494 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1495 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1496 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1497 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1498 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1499 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1500 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1501 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1502 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1503 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1504 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1509 @cindex dribble file
1512 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1513 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1514 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1515 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1516 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1519 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1520 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1523 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1524 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1525 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1527 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1528 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1529 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1530 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1531 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1532 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1534 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1535 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1536 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1539 @node The Active File
1540 @section The Active File
1542 @cindex ignored groups
1544 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1545 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1546 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1548 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1549 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1550 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1551 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1552 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1553 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1554 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1557 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1558 @c if you set it to anything else.
1560 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1562 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1563 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1564 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1566 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1567 you actually subscribe to.
1569 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1570 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1571 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1572 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1574 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1575 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1576 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1577 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1578 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1579 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1581 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1582 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1583 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1586 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1587 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1588 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1589 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1590 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1591 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1593 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1594 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1596 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1597 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1599 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1600 secondary select methods.
1603 @node Startup Variables
1604 @section Startup Variables
1608 @item gnus-load-hook
1609 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1610 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1611 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1612 times you start Gnus.
1614 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1615 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1616 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1618 @item gnus-startup-hook
1619 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1620 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1622 @item gnus-started-hook
1623 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1624 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1627 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1628 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1629 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1630 generating the group buffer.
1632 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1633 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1634 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1635 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1636 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1637 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1638 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1639 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1641 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1642 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1643 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1644 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1645 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1646 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1648 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1649 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1650 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1652 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1653 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1654 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1656 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1657 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1658 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1659 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1665 @chapter Group Buffer
1666 @cindex group buffer
1668 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1670 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1671 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1672 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1673 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1674 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1675 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1676 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1677 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1678 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1679 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1680 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1681 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1682 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1683 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1684 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1685 @c human rights at 9...
1688 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1689 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1690 long as Gnus is active.
1694 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1695 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1696 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1697 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1698 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1699 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1700 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1701 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1707 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1708 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1709 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1710 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1711 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1712 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1713 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1714 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1715 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1716 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1717 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1718 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1719 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1720 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1721 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1722 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1723 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1727 @node Group Buffer Format
1728 @section Group Buffer Format
1731 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1732 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1733 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1736 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1737 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1740 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1741 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1742 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1743 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1746 @node Group Line Specification
1747 @subsection Group Line Specification
1748 @cindex group buffer format
1750 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1751 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1753 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1756 25: news.announce.newusers
1757 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1762 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1763 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1764 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1765 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1767 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1768 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1769 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1770 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1771 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1772 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1774 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1776 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1777 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1778 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1779 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1780 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1782 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1783 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1784 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1786 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1791 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1794 Whether the group is subscribed.
1797 Level of subscribedness.
1800 Number of unread articles.
1803 Number of dormant articles.
1806 Number of ticked articles.
1809 Number of read articles.
1812 Number of unseen articles.
1815 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1816 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1818 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1819 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1820 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1821 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1822 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1823 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1824 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1826 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1827 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1828 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1829 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1830 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1831 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1832 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1835 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1838 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1847 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1848 comment element in the group parameters.
1851 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1852 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1853 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1857 @samp{m} if moderated.
1860 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1866 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1872 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1876 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1879 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1880 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1881 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1882 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1883 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1886 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1888 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1892 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1895 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1899 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1900 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1901 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1902 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1905 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1906 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1907 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1908 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1909 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1910 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1915 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1916 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1917 group, or a bogus native group.
1920 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1921 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1922 @cindex group mode line
1924 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1925 The mode line can be changed by setting
1926 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1927 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1931 The native news server.
1933 The native select method.
1937 @node Group Highlighting
1938 @subsection Group Highlighting
1939 @cindex highlighting
1940 @cindex group highlighting
1942 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1943 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1944 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1945 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1946 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1948 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1952 (cond (window-system
1953 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1954 (defface my-group-face-1
1955 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1956 (defface my-group-face-2
1957 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1958 "Second group face")
1959 (defface my-group-face-3
1960 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1961 (defface my-group-face-4
1962 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1963 (defface my-group-face-5
1964 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1966 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1967 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1968 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1969 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1970 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1971 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1974 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1976 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1983 The number of unread articles in the group.
1987 Whether the group is a mail group.
1989 The level of the group.
1991 The score of the group.
1993 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1995 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1996 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1998 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1999 topic being inserted.
2002 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2003 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
2004 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2006 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2007 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2008 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2009 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2010 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2013 @node Group Maneuvering
2014 @section Group Maneuvering
2015 @cindex group movement
2017 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2018 expected, hopefully.
2024 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2025 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2026 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2032 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2033 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2034 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2038 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2039 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2043 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2044 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2048 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2049 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2050 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2054 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2055 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2056 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2059 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2065 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2066 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2067 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2072 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2073 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2074 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2078 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2079 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2080 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2083 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2084 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2085 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2086 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2090 @node Selecting a Group
2091 @section Selecting a Group
2092 @cindex group selection
2097 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2098 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2099 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2100 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2101 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2102 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2103 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2104 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2105 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2106 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2108 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2109 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2110 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2112 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2113 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2118 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2119 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2120 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2121 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2122 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2126 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2127 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2128 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2129 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2130 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2131 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2132 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2133 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2134 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2135 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2138 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2139 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2140 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2141 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2142 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2145 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2146 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2147 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2148 doing any processing of its contents
2149 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2150 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2151 manner will have no permanent effects.
2155 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2156 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2157 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2158 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2159 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2160 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2161 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2162 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2163 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2164 most recently will be fetched.
2166 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2167 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2168 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2171 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2172 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2173 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2174 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2175 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2176 Which article this is is controlled by the
2177 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2183 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2186 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2189 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2191 @item unseen-or-unread
2192 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2193 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2197 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2201 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2202 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2204 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2205 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2206 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2207 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2211 @node Subscription Commands
2212 @section Subscription Commands
2213 @cindex subscription
2221 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2222 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2223 Toggle subscription to the current group
2224 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2231 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2232 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2233 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2239 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2240 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2241 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2247 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2248 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2251 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2252 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2253 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2254 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2255 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2261 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2262 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2266 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2267 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2270 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2271 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2272 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2273 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2274 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2275 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2276 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2277 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2278 @file{.newsrc} file.
2282 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2292 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2293 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2294 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2295 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2296 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2297 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2302 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2303 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2304 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2308 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2309 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2310 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2312 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2313 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2314 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2315 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2316 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2317 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2324 @section Group Levels
2328 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2329 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2330 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2331 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2332 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2334 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2340 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2341 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2342 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2343 prompted for a level.
2346 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2347 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2348 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2349 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2350 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2351 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2352 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2353 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2354 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2355 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2356 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2357 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2358 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2359 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2360 reasons of efficiency.
2362 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2363 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2365 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2366 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2367 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2368 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2369 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2370 groups are hidden, in a way.
2372 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2373 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2374 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2375 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2376 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2377 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2379 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2380 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2381 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2382 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2383 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2384 list of killed groups.)
2386 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2387 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2388 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2390 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2391 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2392 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2393 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2394 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2395 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2396 relevant valid ranges.
2398 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2399 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2400 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2401 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2402 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2403 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2406 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2407 one with the best level.
2409 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2410 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2411 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2414 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2415 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2416 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2417 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2420 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2421 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2422 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2423 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2425 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2426 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2427 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2428 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2429 to 5. The default is 6.
2433 @section Group Score
2438 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2439 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2440 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2443 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2444 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2445 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2446 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2447 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2448 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2449 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2450 least significant part.))
2452 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2453 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2454 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2455 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2456 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2457 action after each summary exit, you can add
2458 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2459 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2460 slow things down somewhat.
2463 @node Marking Groups
2464 @section Marking Groups
2465 @cindex marking groups
2467 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2468 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2469 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2470 bidding on those groups.
2472 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2473 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2474 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2482 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2483 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2489 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2490 Remove the mark from the current group
2491 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2496 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2500 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2501 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2505 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2506 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2511 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2512 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2515 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2517 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2518 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2519 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2520 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2521 the command to be executed.
2524 @node Foreign Groups
2525 @section Foreign Groups
2526 @cindex foreign groups
2528 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2529 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2530 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2531 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2534 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2535 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2536 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2542 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2543 @cindex making groups
2544 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2545 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2546 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2551 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2552 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2556 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2557 @cindex renaming groups
2558 Rename the current group to something else
2559 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2560 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2566 @findex gnus-group-customize
2567 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2571 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2572 @cindex renaming groups
2573 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2574 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2578 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2579 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2580 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2584 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2585 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2586 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2590 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2592 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2593 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2598 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2599 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2603 @cindex (ding) archive
2604 @cindex archive group
2605 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2606 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2607 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2608 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2609 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2610 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2611 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2615 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2617 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2618 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2619 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2620 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2624 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2626 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2627 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2628 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2632 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2633 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2635 Make a group based on some file or other
2636 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2637 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2638 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2639 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2640 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2641 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2642 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2643 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2644 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2648 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2649 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2650 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2651 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2655 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2659 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2660 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2661 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2662 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2663 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2664 @xref{Web Searches}.
2666 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2667 to a particular group by using a match string like
2668 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2672 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2673 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2674 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2678 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2679 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2680 This function will delete the current group
2681 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2682 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2683 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2684 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2685 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2689 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2690 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2691 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2695 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2696 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2697 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2700 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2703 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2704 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2705 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2706 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2707 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2708 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2712 @node Group Parameters
2713 @section Group Parameters
2714 @cindex group parameters
2716 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2717 Here's an example group parameter list:
2720 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2724 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2725 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2726 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2727 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2729 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2730 is an alist of regexps and values.
2732 The following group parameters can be used:
2737 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2740 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2743 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2744 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2745 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2746 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2747 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2749 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2750 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2751 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2752 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2753 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2754 list address instead.
2756 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2760 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2763 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2766 It is totally ignored
2767 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2768 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2770 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2771 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2772 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2773 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2774 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2776 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2777 @cindex mail list groups
2778 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2779 entering summary buffer.
2781 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2786 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2787 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2788 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2789 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2790 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2791 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2792 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2793 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2796 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2797 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2800 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2801 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2805 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2806 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2807 of whether it has any unread articles.
2809 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2810 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2812 @item broken-reply-to
2813 @cindex broken-reply-to
2814 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2815 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2816 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2817 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2818 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2819 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2823 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2824 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2828 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2829 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2830 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2835 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2836 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2837 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2838 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2839 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2840 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2841 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2843 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2844 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2845 doesn't accept articles.
2849 @cindex expiring mail
2850 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2851 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2852 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2854 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2857 @cindex total-expire
2858 @cindex expiring mail
2859 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2860 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2861 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2862 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2865 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2869 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2870 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2871 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2872 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2873 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2874 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2875 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2878 @cindex expiry-target
2879 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2880 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2883 @cindex score file group parameter
2884 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2885 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2886 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2889 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2890 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2891 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2892 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2895 @cindex admin-address
2896 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2897 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2898 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2899 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2903 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2904 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2908 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2911 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2912 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2915 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2919 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2921 Here are some examples:
2925 Display only unread articles.
2928 Display everything except expirable articles.
2930 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2931 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2935 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2936 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2937 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2938 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2939 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2943 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2944 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2945 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2949 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2950 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2951 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2955 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2956 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2957 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2959 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2961 @item ignored-charsets
2962 @cindex ignored-charset
2963 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2964 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2965 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2967 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2970 @cindex posting-style
2971 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2972 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2973 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2974 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2975 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2977 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2978 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2979 like this in the group parameters:
2984 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2985 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2988 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
2989 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
2990 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
2991 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
2992 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
2993 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
2999 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3000 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3004 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3005 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3006 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3007 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3008 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3012 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3013 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3014 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3015 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3017 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3018 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3019 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3020 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3023 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3024 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3028 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3029 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3030 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3031 like the following is generated:
3034 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3035 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3039 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3040 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3042 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3043 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3045 @item (agent parameters)
3046 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3047 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3048 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3049 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3050 minimize the configuration effort.
3052 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3053 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3054 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3055 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3056 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3057 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3058 @code{eval}ed there.
3060 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3061 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3062 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3063 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3064 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3065 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3066 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3067 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3070 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3073 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3074 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3075 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3078 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3081 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3082 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3083 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3084 into the group parameters for the group.
3086 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3087 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3088 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3089 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3092 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3093 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3094 following is added to a group parameter
3097 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3098 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3101 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3106 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3107 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3108 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3109 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3110 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3112 @vindex gnus-parameters
3113 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3114 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3115 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3119 (setq gnus-parameters
3121 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3122 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3123 (gnus-summary-line-format
3124 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3128 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3132 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3136 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3139 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3140 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3142 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3143 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3144 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3145 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3146 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3147 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3148 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3149 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3150 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3151 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3152 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3153 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3155 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3156 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3157 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3158 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3159 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3160 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3161 weekly news RSS feed
3162 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3168 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3169 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3170 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3171 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3172 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3174 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3175 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3176 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3177 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3178 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3179 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3183 @node Listing Groups
3184 @section Listing Groups
3185 @cindex group listing
3187 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3195 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3196 List all groups that have unread articles
3197 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3198 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3199 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3200 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3207 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3208 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3209 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3210 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3211 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3212 unsubscribed groups).
3216 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3217 List all unread groups on a specific level
3218 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3219 with no unread articles.
3223 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3224 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3225 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3226 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3231 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3232 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3236 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3237 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3238 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3242 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3243 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3247 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3248 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3249 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3250 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3251 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3252 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3253 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3254 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3258 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3259 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3260 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3264 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3265 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3266 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3270 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3271 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3275 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3276 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3280 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3281 List groups limited within the current selection
3282 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3286 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3287 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3291 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3292 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3296 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3297 @cindex visible group parameter
3298 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3299 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3300 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3301 get the same effect.
3303 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3304 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3305 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3306 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3307 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3310 @node Sorting Groups
3311 @section Sorting Groups
3312 @cindex sorting groups
3314 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3315 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3316 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3317 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3318 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3319 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3324 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3325 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3326 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3328 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3329 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3330 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3332 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3333 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3334 Sort by group level.
3336 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3337 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3338 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3340 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3341 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3342 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3343 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3345 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3346 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3347 Sort by number of unread articles.
3349 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3350 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3351 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3353 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3354 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3355 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3360 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3361 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3365 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3366 some sorting criteria:
3370 @kindex G S a (Group)
3371 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3372 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3373 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3376 @kindex G S u (Group)
3377 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3378 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3379 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3382 @kindex G S l (Group)
3383 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3384 Sort the group buffer by group level
3385 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3388 @kindex G S v (Group)
3389 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3390 Sort the group buffer by group score
3391 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3394 @kindex G S r (Group)
3395 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3396 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3397 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3400 @kindex G S m (Group)
3401 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3402 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3403 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3406 @kindex G S n (Group)
3407 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3408 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3409 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3413 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3414 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3416 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3417 commands will sort in reverse order.
3419 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3423 @kindex G P a (Group)
3424 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3425 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3426 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3429 @kindex G P u (Group)
3430 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3431 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3432 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3435 @kindex G P l (Group)
3436 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3437 Sort the groups by group level
3438 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3441 @kindex G P v (Group)
3442 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3443 Sort the groups by group score
3444 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3447 @kindex G P r (Group)
3448 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3449 Sort the groups by group rank
3450 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3453 @kindex G P m (Group)
3454 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3455 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3456 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3459 @kindex G P n (Group)
3460 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3461 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3462 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3465 @kindex G P s (Group)
3466 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3467 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3471 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3475 @node Group Maintenance
3476 @section Group Maintenance
3477 @cindex bogus groups
3482 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3483 Find bogus groups and delete them
3484 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3488 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3489 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3490 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3491 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3492 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3496 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3497 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3498 @cindex expiring mail
3499 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3500 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3501 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3502 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3505 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3506 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3507 @cindex expiring mail
3508 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3509 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3514 @node Browse Foreign Server
3515 @section Browse Foreign Server
3516 @cindex foreign servers
3517 @cindex browsing servers
3522 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3523 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3524 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3525 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3528 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3529 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3530 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3531 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3533 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3538 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3539 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3543 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3544 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3547 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3548 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3549 Enter the current group and display the first article
3550 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3553 @kindex RET (Browse)
3554 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3555 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3559 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3560 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3561 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3567 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3568 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3572 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3573 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3577 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3578 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3579 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3584 @section Exiting Gnus
3585 @cindex exiting Gnus
3587 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3592 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3593 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3594 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3595 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3599 @findex gnus-group-exit
3600 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3601 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3605 @findex gnus-group-quit
3606 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3607 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3610 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3611 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3612 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3613 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3614 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3615 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3621 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3622 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3623 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3629 @section Group Topics
3632 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3633 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3634 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3635 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3636 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3637 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3641 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3642 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3653 2: alt.religion.emacs
3656 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3658 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3659 13: comp.sources.unix
3662 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3664 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3665 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3666 is a toggling command.)
3668 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3669 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3670 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3671 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3674 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3675 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3676 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3679 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3683 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3684 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3685 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3686 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3687 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3691 @node Topic Commands
3692 @subsection Topic Commands
3693 @cindex topic commands
3695 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3696 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3697 definitions slightly.
3699 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3700 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3701 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3702 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3703 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3704 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3706 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3713 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3714 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3715 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3719 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3721 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3722 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3723 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3724 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3727 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3728 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3729 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3730 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3734 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3735 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3736 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3737 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3743 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3744 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3745 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3749 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3750 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3751 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3754 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3755 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3756 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3757 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3758 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3760 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3761 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3765 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3766 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3773 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3775 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3776 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3777 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3778 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3779 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3780 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3784 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3790 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3791 Move the current group to some other topic
3792 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3793 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3797 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3798 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3802 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3803 Copy the current group to some other topic
3804 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3805 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3809 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3810 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3811 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3815 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3816 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3817 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3821 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3822 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3823 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3824 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3825 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3826 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3827 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3830 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3831 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3835 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3836 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3837 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3841 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3842 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3843 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3847 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3848 Toggle hiding empty topics
3849 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3853 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3854 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3855 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3856 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3859 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3860 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3861 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3862 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3863 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3866 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3867 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3868 @cindex expiring mail
3869 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3870 expiry process (if any)
3871 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3875 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3876 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3879 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3880 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3881 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3885 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3886 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3887 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3890 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3891 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3892 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3895 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3896 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3897 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3901 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3902 @cindex group parameters
3903 @cindex topic parameters
3905 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3906 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3911 @node Topic Variables
3912 @subsection Topic Variables
3913 @cindex topic variables
3915 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3916 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3918 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3919 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3920 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3933 Number of groups in the topic.
3935 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3937 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3940 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3941 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3942 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3945 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3946 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3948 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3949 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3950 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3954 @subsection Topic Sorting
3955 @cindex topic sorting
3957 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3963 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3964 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3965 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3966 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3969 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3970 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3971 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3972 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3975 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3976 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3977 Sort the current topic by group level
3978 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3981 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3982 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3983 Sort the current topic by group score
3984 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3987 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3988 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3989 Sort the current topic by group rank
3990 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3993 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3994 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3995 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3996 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3999 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4000 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4001 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4002 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4005 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4006 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4007 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4008 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4009 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4013 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4014 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4018 @node Topic Topology
4019 @subsection Topic Topology
4020 @cindex topic topology
4023 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4030 2: alt.religion.emacs
4033 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4035 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4036 13: comp.sources.unix
4040 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4041 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4042 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4047 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4048 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4052 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4053 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4054 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4055 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4056 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4057 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4059 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4060 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4061 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4064 @node Topic Parameters
4065 @subsection Topic Parameters
4066 @cindex topic parameters
4068 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4069 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4070 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4071 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4072 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4074 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4079 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4080 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4081 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4084 @item subscribe-level
4085 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4086 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4087 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4091 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4092 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4093 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4094 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4101 2: alt.religion.emacs
4105 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4107 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4108 13: comp.sources.unix
4113 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4114 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4115 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4116 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4117 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4118 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4120 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4121 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4122 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4123 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4124 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4126 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4127 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4128 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4129 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4130 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4131 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4132 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4133 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4136 @node Misc Group Stuff
4137 @section Misc Group Stuff
4140 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4141 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4142 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4143 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4144 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4151 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4152 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
4153 function or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4156 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4159 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4162 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4163 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4167 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4168 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4169 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4173 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4174 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4175 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4176 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4177 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4178 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4179 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4183 @findex gnus-group-mail
4184 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4185 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4186 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4187 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4191 @findex gnus-group-news
4192 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4193 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4194 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4196 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4197 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4198 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4199 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4200 for this to work though.
4204 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4206 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4207 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4208 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4213 Variables for the group buffer:
4217 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4218 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4219 is called after the group buffer has been
4222 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4223 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4224 is called after the group buffer is
4225 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4228 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4229 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4230 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4231 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4233 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4234 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4235 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4236 whether they are empty or not.
4238 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4239 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4240 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4241 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4245 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4246 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4249 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4250 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4251 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4252 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4253 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4254 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4255 default is @code{nil}.
4259 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4260 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4265 @node Scanning New Messages
4266 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4267 @cindex new messages
4268 @cindex scanning new news
4274 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4275 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4276 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4277 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4278 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4279 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4284 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4285 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4286 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4287 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4288 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4289 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4290 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4292 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4293 @cindex activating groups
4295 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4296 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4301 @findex gnus-group-restart
4302 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4303 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4304 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4308 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4309 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4311 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4312 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4316 @node Group Information
4317 @subsection Group Information
4318 @cindex group information
4319 @cindex information on groups
4326 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4327 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4330 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4331 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4332 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4333 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4334 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4335 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4336 used for fetching the file.
4338 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4339 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4343 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4344 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4346 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4347 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4350 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4351 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4352 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4356 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4357 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4358 @cindex control message
4359 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4360 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4361 group if given a prefix argument.
4363 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4364 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4365 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4366 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4368 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4369 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4370 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4374 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4376 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4377 @cindex describing groups
4378 @cindex group description
4379 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4380 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4381 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4385 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4386 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4387 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4394 @findex gnus-version
4395 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4399 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4400 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4403 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4406 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4407 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4411 @node Group Timestamp
4412 @subsection Group Timestamp
4414 @cindex group timestamps
4416 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4417 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4418 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4421 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4424 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4426 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4427 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4430 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4431 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4434 This will result in lines looking like:
4437 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4438 0: custom 19961002T012713
4441 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4442 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4446 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4447 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4450 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4451 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4455 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4456 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4457 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4458 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4460 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4466 @subsection File Commands
4467 @cindex file commands
4473 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4474 @vindex gnus-init-file
4475 @cindex reading init file
4476 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4477 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4481 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4482 @cindex saving .newsrc
4483 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4484 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4485 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4488 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4489 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4490 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4495 @node Sieve Commands
4496 @subsection Sieve Commands
4497 @cindex group sieve commands
4499 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4500 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4501 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4502 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4503 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4505 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4506 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4507 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4508 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4509 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4510 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4511 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4512 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4513 regenerate the Sieve script.
4515 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4516 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4517 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4518 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4519 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4520 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4521 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4522 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4523 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4524 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4527 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4528 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4533 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4539 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4540 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4541 @cindex generating sieve script
4542 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4543 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4547 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4548 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4549 @cindex updating sieve script
4550 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4551 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4552 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4557 @node Summary Buffer
4558 @chapter Summary Buffer
4559 @cindex summary buffer
4561 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4562 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4564 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4565 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4567 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4569 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4570 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4574 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4575 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
4576 function or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4578 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4582 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4583 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4584 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4585 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4586 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4587 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4588 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4589 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4590 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4591 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4592 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4593 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4594 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4595 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4596 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4597 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4598 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4599 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4600 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4601 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4602 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4603 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4604 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4605 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4606 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4607 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4608 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4609 or reselecting the current group.
4610 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4611 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4612 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4613 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4617 @node Summary Buffer Format
4618 @section Summary Buffer Format
4619 @cindex summary buffer format
4623 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4624 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4625 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4631 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4632 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4633 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4634 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4637 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4638 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4639 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4640 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4641 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4642 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4643 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4644 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4645 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4646 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4647 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4650 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4651 'mail-extract-address-components)
4654 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4655 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4656 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4657 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4660 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4661 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4663 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4664 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4665 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4666 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4667 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4669 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4670 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4671 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4672 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4673 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4674 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4676 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4678 The following format specification characters and extended format
4679 specification(s) are understood:
4685 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4686 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4688 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4689 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4690 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4692 Full @code{From} header.
4694 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4696 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4699 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4700 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4701 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4702 may be more thorough.
4704 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4707 Number of lines in the article.
4709 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4710 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4712 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4713 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4715 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4717 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4718 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4731 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4732 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4733 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4734 line-drawing glyphs.
4736 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4737 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4738 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4739 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4741 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4742 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4743 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4744 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4746 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4747 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4748 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4749 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4751 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4752 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4753 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4755 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4756 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4757 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4759 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4760 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4761 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4763 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4764 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4765 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4770 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4771 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4773 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4774 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4776 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4777 for adopted articles.
4779 One space for each thread level.
4781 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4783 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4786 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4787 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4788 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4791 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4793 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4794 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4795 default level. If the difference between
4796 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4797 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4805 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4807 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4813 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4814 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4816 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4817 article has any children.
4823 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4825 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4826 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4828 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4829 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4830 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4831 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4832 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4833 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4836 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4837 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4838 There can only be one such area.
4840 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4841 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4842 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4843 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4844 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4845 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4847 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4848 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4850 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4853 @node To From Newsgroups
4854 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4858 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4859 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4860 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4861 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4862 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4866 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4867 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4868 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4872 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4873 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4876 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4877 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4880 @findex gnus-extra-header
4881 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4882 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4883 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4886 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4890 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4891 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4892 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4893 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4894 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4895 headers are used instead.
4897 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4898 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4899 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4900 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4901 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4902 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4906 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4907 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4908 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4909 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4910 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4911 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4914 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4915 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4916 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4917 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4919 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4923 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4925 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4926 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4927 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4928 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4932 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4935 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4936 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4939 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4940 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4941 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4947 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4948 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4951 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4952 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4954 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4955 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4956 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4957 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4959 Here are the elements you can play with:
4965 Unprefixed group name.
4967 Current article number.
4969 Current article score.
4973 Number of unread articles in this group.
4975 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4978 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4979 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4980 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4981 and no unselected ones.
4983 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4984 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4986 Subject of the current article.
4988 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4990 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4992 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4994 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4996 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4998 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5002 @node Summary Highlighting
5003 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5007 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5008 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5009 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5010 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5011 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5013 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5014 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5015 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5016 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5018 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5019 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5020 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5021 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5023 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5024 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5025 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5026 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5027 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5028 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5031 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5032 ((> score default) . bold))
5034 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5035 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5039 @node Summary Maneuvering
5040 @section Summary Maneuvering
5041 @cindex summary movement
5043 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5044 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5046 None of these commands select articles.
5051 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5052 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5053 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5054 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5055 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5059 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5060 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5061 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5062 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5063 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5066 @kindex G g (Summary)
5067 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5068 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5069 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5072 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5073 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5074 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5075 to the group buffer.
5077 Variables related to summary movement:
5081 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5082 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5083 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5084 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5085 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5086 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5087 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5088 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5089 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5090 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5091 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5092 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5093 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5094 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5096 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5097 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5098 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5099 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5100 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5101 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5102 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5104 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5106 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5107 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5108 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5109 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5110 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5112 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5113 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5114 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5115 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5116 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5117 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5118 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5119 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5122 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5123 the given number of lines from the top.
5128 @node Choosing Articles
5129 @section Choosing Articles
5130 @cindex selecting articles
5133 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5134 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5138 @node Choosing Commands
5139 @subsection Choosing Commands
5141 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5142 and they all select and display an article.
5144 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5145 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5149 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5150 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5151 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5152 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5154 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5155 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5156 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5161 @kindex G n (Summary)
5162 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5163 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5164 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5169 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5170 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5171 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5176 @kindex G N (Summary)
5177 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5178 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5183 @kindex G P (Summary)
5184 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5185 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5188 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5190 Go to the next article with the same subject
5191 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5194 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5196 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5197 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5201 @kindex G f (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5204 Go to the first unread article
5205 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5209 @kindex G b (Summary)
5211 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5212 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5213 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5214 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5219 @kindex G l (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5221 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5224 @kindex G o (Summary)
5225 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5227 @cindex article history
5228 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5229 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5230 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5231 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5232 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5233 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5238 @kindex G j (Summary)
5239 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5240 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5241 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5246 @node Choosing Variables
5247 @subsection Choosing Variables
5249 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5252 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5253 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5254 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5255 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5256 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5257 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5259 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5260 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5261 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5262 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5263 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5266 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5267 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5268 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5269 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5270 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5271 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5272 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5273 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5274 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5275 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5276 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5277 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5278 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5279 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5284 @node Paging the Article
5285 @section Scrolling the Article
5286 @cindex article scrolling
5291 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5293 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5294 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5295 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5297 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5298 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5299 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5300 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5301 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5302 what is considered uninteresting with
5303 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5304 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5307 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5309 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5312 @kindex RET (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5314 Scroll the current article one line forward
5315 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5318 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5319 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5320 Scroll the current article one line backward
5321 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5325 @kindex A g (Summary)
5327 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5328 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5329 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5330 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5331 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5332 the way it came from the server.
5334 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5335 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5336 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5339 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5344 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5349 @kindex A < (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5351 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5352 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5357 @kindex A > (Summary)
5358 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5359 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5363 @kindex A s (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5366 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5367 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5371 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5372 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5377 @node Reply Followup and Post
5378 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5381 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5382 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5383 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5384 * Canceling and Superseding::
5388 @node Summary Mail Commands
5389 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5391 @cindex composing mail
5393 Commands for composing a mail message:
5399 @kindex S r (Summary)
5401 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5402 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5403 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5404 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5405 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5410 @kindex S R (Summary)
5411 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5412 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5413 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5414 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5415 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5418 @kindex S w (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5420 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5421 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5422 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5423 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5424 present, that's used instead.
5427 @kindex S W (Summary)
5428 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5429 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5430 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5431 the process/prefix convention.
5434 @kindex S v (Summary)
5435 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5436 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5437 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5438 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5439 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5440 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5443 @kindex S V (Summary)
5444 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5445 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5446 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5447 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5450 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5451 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5452 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5453 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5454 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5455 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5456 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5457 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5460 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5461 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5462 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5463 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5464 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5468 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5469 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5470 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5471 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5472 Forward the current article to some other person
5473 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5474 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5475 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5476 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5477 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5478 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5479 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5480 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5481 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5487 @kindex S m (Summary)
5488 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5489 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5490 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5491 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5492 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5497 @kindex S i (Summary)
5498 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5499 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5500 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5501 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5503 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5504 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5505 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5506 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5507 for this to work though.
5510 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5511 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5512 @cindex bouncing mail
5513 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5514 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5515 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5516 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5517 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5518 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5519 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5520 very well fail, though.
5523 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5524 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5525 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5526 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5527 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5528 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5529 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5530 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5531 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5532 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5534 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5535 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5536 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5537 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5538 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5540 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5541 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5544 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5545 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5547 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5548 if it were a new message before resending.
5551 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5552 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5553 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5554 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5555 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5558 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5559 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5560 @cindex crossposting
5561 @cindex excessive crossposting
5562 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5563 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5565 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5566 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5567 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5568 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5569 command understands the process/prefix convention
5570 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5574 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5575 Manual}, for more information.
5578 @node Summary Post Commands
5579 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5581 @cindex composing news
5583 Commands for posting a news article:
5589 @kindex S p (Summary)
5590 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5591 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5592 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5593 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5594 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5599 @kindex S f (Summary)
5600 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5601 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5602 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5606 @kindex S F (Summary)
5608 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5609 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5610 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5611 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5612 process/prefix convention.
5615 @kindex S n (Summary)
5616 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5617 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5618 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5621 @kindex S N (Summary)
5622 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5623 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5624 message through mail and include the original message
5625 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5626 the process/prefix convention.
5629 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5630 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5631 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5632 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5633 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5634 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5635 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5636 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5637 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5638 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5639 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5640 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5641 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5644 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5645 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5647 @cindex making digests
5648 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5649 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5650 process/prefix convention.
5653 @kindex S u (Summary)
5654 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5655 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5656 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5657 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5660 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5661 Manual}, for more information.
5664 @node Summary Message Commands
5665 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5669 @kindex S y (Summary)
5670 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5671 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5672 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5673 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5674 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5679 @node Canceling and Superseding
5680 @subsection Canceling Articles
5681 @cindex canceling articles
5682 @cindex superseding articles
5684 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5685 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5687 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5689 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5691 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5692 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5693 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5694 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5695 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5696 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5698 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5699 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5702 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5703 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5704 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5706 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5707 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5708 message, Message Manual}).
5710 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5711 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5712 your original article.
5714 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5716 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5717 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5718 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5721 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5722 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5723 have posted almost the same article twice.
5725 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5726 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5727 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5728 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5729 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5730 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5731 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5732 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5733 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5734 canceled/superseded.
5736 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5738 @node Delayed Articles
5739 @section Delayed Articles
5740 @cindex delayed sending
5741 @cindex send delayed
5743 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5744 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5745 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5746 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5749 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5752 @findex gnus-delay-article
5753 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5754 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5755 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5756 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5760 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5761 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5762 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5763 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5766 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5767 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5768 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5771 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5772 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5773 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5774 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5775 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5776 that means a time tomorrow.
5779 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5780 couple of variables:
5783 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5784 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5785 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5786 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5788 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5789 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5790 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5791 formats described above.
5793 @item gnus-delay-group
5794 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5795 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5796 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5797 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5799 @item gnus-delay-header
5800 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5801 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5802 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5803 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5806 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5807 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5808 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5809 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5810 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5812 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5813 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5814 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5815 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5816 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5817 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5818 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5821 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5822 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5823 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5824 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5825 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5826 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5827 argument is ignored.
5829 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5830 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5831 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5835 @node Marking Articles
5836 @section Marking Articles
5837 @cindex article marking
5838 @cindex article ticking
5841 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5843 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5844 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5845 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5847 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5850 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5854 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5855 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5856 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5857 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5858 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5859 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5863 @node Unread Articles
5864 @subsection Unread Articles
5866 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5871 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5872 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5874 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5875 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5876 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5877 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5878 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5879 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5880 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5883 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5884 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5886 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5887 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5888 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5889 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5893 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5894 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5896 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5901 @subsection Read Articles
5902 @cindex expirable mark
5904 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5909 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5910 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5911 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5914 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5915 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5918 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5919 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5920 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5923 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5924 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5927 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5928 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5931 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5932 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5935 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5936 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5939 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5940 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5943 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5944 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5947 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5948 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5952 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5953 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5954 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5958 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5959 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5961 One more special mark, though:
5965 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5966 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5968 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5969 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5970 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5971 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5977 @subsection Other Marks
5978 @cindex process mark
5981 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5987 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5988 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5989 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5990 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5991 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5994 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5995 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5996 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5997 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6000 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6001 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6002 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6005 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6006 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6007 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6010 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6011 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6012 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6013 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6016 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6017 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6018 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6019 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6020 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6021 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6024 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6025 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6026 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6027 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6030 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6031 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6032 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6033 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6034 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6038 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6039 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6040 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6041 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6042 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6043 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6046 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6047 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6048 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6049 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6050 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6051 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6055 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6056 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6057 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6058 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6059 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6062 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6063 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6064 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6065 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6066 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6067 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6071 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6072 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6073 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6075 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6076 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6077 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6081 @subsection Setting Marks
6082 @cindex setting marks
6084 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6089 @kindex M c (Summary)
6090 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6092 @cindex mark as unread
6093 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6100 @kindex M t (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6102 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6103 @xref{Article Caching}.
6108 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6109 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6110 Mark the current article as dormant
6111 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6115 @kindex M d (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6118 Mark the current article as read
6119 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6123 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6124 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6125 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6130 @kindex M k (Summary)
6131 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6132 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6133 and then select the next unread article
6134 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6138 @kindex M K (Summary)
6139 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6140 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6141 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6142 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6145 @kindex M C (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6147 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6148 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6151 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6153 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6154 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6157 @kindex M H (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6159 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6160 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6163 @kindex M h (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6165 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6166 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6169 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6171 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6175 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6176 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6177 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6178 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6182 @kindex M e (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6185 Mark the current article as expirable
6186 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6189 @kindex M b (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6191 Set a bookmark in the current article
6192 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6195 @kindex M B (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6197 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6198 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6201 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6202 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6203 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6204 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6207 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6209 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6210 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6213 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6215 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6216 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6217 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6220 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6221 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6222 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6223 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6224 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6225 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6226 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6227 The default is @code{t}.
6230 @node Generic Marking Commands
6231 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6233 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6234 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6235 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6236 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6237 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6240 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6241 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6244 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6245 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6246 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6247 to list in this manual.
6249 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6250 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6251 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6252 article, you could say something like:
6256 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6257 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6258 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6266 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6267 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6271 @node Setting Process Marks
6272 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6273 @cindex setting process marks
6275 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6276 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6277 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6278 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6279 articles into the cache. For more information,
6280 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6287 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6288 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6289 Mark the current article with the process mark
6290 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6291 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6295 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6296 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6297 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6298 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6301 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6302 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6303 Remove the process mark from all articles
6304 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6307 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6309 Invert the list of process marked articles
6310 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6313 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6315 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6316 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6319 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6321 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6322 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6325 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6326 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6327 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6330 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6332 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6335 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6337 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6338 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6341 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6343 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6344 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6347 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6349 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6350 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6353 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6354 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6355 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6358 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6360 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6361 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6364 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6365 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6366 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6369 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6370 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6371 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6372 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6375 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6376 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6377 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6378 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6381 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6382 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6383 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6384 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6387 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6388 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6389 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6390 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6394 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6395 set process marks based on article body contents.
6402 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6403 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6404 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6407 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6408 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6409 additional articles.
6415 @kindex / / (Summary)
6416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6417 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6418 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6422 @kindex / a (Summary)
6423 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6424 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6425 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6429 @kindex / R (Summary)
6430 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6431 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6432 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6436 @kindex / S (Summary)
6437 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6438 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6439 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6440 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6443 @kindex / x (Summary)
6444 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6445 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6446 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6447 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6452 @kindex / u (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6455 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6456 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6457 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6458 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6461 @kindex / m (Summary)
6462 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6463 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6464 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6467 @kindex / t (Summary)
6468 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6469 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6470 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6471 articles younger than that number of days.
6474 @kindex / n (Summary)
6475 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6476 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6477 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6478 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6481 @kindex / w (Summary)
6482 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6483 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6484 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6488 @kindex / . (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6490 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6491 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6494 @kindex / v (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6496 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6497 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6500 @kindex / p (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6502 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6503 group parameter predicate
6504 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6505 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6508 @kindex / r (Summary)
6509 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6510 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6511 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6516 @kindex M S (Summary)
6517 @kindex / E (Summary)
6518 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6519 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6520 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6523 @kindex / D (Summary)
6524 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6525 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6526 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6529 @kindex / * (Summary)
6530 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6531 Include all cached articles in the limit
6532 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6535 @kindex / d (Summary)
6536 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6537 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6538 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6541 @kindex / M (Summary)
6542 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6543 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6546 @kindex / T (Summary)
6547 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6548 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6551 @kindex / c (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6553 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6554 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6557 @kindex / C (Summary)
6558 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6559 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6560 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6561 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6564 @kindex / N (Summary)
6565 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6566 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6567 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6570 @kindex / o (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6572 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6573 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6576 @kindex / b (Summary)
6577 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6578 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6579 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6580 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6581 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6584 @kindex / h (Summary)
6585 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6586 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6587 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6595 @cindex article threading
6597 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6598 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6599 hierarchical fashion.
6601 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6602 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6603 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6604 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6605 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6606 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6607 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6609 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6613 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6616 A tree-like article structure.
6619 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6622 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6623 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6624 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6625 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6626 called loose threads.
6628 @item thread gathering
6629 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6631 @item sparse threads
6632 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6633 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6639 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6640 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6644 @node Customizing Threading
6645 @subsection Customizing Threading
6646 @cindex customizing threading
6649 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6650 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6651 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6652 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6657 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6660 @cindex loose threads
6663 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6664 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6665 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6666 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6667 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6668 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6670 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6671 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6672 There are four possible values:
6676 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6677 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6678 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6679 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6680 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6685 @cindex adopting articles
6690 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6691 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6692 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6693 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6696 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6697 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6698 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6699 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6700 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6701 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6702 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6703 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6704 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6705 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6708 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6709 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6710 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6714 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6715 display them after one another.
6718 Don't gather loose threads.
6721 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6722 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6723 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6724 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6725 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6726 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6727 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6728 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6729 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6730 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6731 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6733 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6734 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6735 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6738 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6739 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6740 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6741 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6742 simplification is used.
6744 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6745 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6746 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6747 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6749 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6751 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6757 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6758 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6759 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6760 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6765 (mapconcat 'identity
6766 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6768 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6771 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6774 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6775 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6776 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6777 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6778 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6779 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6781 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6784 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6785 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6786 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6788 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6789 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6792 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6793 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6794 Remove excessive whitespace.
6796 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6797 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6798 Remove all whitespace.
6801 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6804 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6805 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6806 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6807 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6808 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6809 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6810 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6811 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6813 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6814 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6815 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6816 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6817 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6818 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6819 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6820 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6821 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6825 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6826 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6827 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6828 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6830 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6831 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6832 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6835 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6839 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6840 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6846 @node Filling In Threads
6847 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6850 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6851 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6852 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6853 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6854 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6855 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6856 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6857 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6858 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6859 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6860 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6861 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6864 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6865 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6866 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6868 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6869 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6870 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6873 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6874 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6875 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6876 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6877 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6878 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6879 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6880 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6881 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6882 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6883 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6884 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6885 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6886 @code{nil} by default.
6888 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6889 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6890 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6891 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6892 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6893 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6894 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6896 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6897 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6898 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6903 @node More Threading
6904 @subsubsection More Threading
6907 @item gnus-show-threads
6908 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6909 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6910 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6911 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6912 slower and more awkward.
6914 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6915 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6916 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6919 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6920 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6921 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6926 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6927 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6928 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6931 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6932 unread, but you get my drift.)
6935 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6936 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6937 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6938 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6939 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6940 threads are expunged.
6942 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6943 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6944 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6947 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6948 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6949 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6950 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6951 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6952 result in a new thread.
6954 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6955 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6956 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6959 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6960 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6961 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6962 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6963 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6964 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6965 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6966 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6967 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6968 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6969 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6974 @node Low-Level Threading
6975 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6979 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6980 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6981 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6983 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6984 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6985 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6986 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6987 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6988 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6989 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6990 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6991 meaningful. Here's one example:
6994 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6996 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6997 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6999 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7001 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7008 @node Thread Commands
7009 @subsection Thread Commands
7010 @cindex thread commands
7016 @kindex T k (Summary)
7017 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7018 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7019 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7020 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7021 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7026 @kindex T l (Summary)
7027 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7028 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7029 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7030 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7033 @kindex T i (Summary)
7034 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7035 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7036 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7039 @kindex T # (Summary)
7040 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7041 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7042 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7045 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7046 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7047 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7048 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7051 @kindex T T (Summary)
7052 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7053 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7056 @kindex T s (Summary)
7057 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7058 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7059 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7062 @kindex T h (Summary)
7063 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7064 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7067 @kindex T S (Summary)
7068 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7069 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7072 @kindex T H (Summary)
7073 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7074 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7077 @kindex T t (Summary)
7078 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7079 Re-thread the current article's thread
7080 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7081 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7084 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7085 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7086 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7087 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7090 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7091 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7092 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7093 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7097 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7098 understand the numeric prefix.
7103 @kindex T n (Summary)
7105 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7107 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7108 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7109 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7112 @kindex T p (Summary)
7114 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7116 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7117 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7118 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7121 @kindex T d (Summary)
7122 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7123 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7126 @kindex T u (Summary)
7127 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7128 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7131 @kindex T o (Summary)
7132 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7133 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7136 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7137 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7138 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7139 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7140 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7141 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7142 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7143 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7144 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7145 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7146 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7147 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7151 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7152 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7154 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7155 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7156 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse
7157 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7158 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7159 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7160 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7161 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7162 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7163 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7164 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7165 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7166 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7167 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7168 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7169 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7171 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7172 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7173 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7174 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7175 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse},
7176 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7177 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7178 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7179 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7180 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7182 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7183 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7184 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7186 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7187 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7188 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7189 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7190 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7191 ascending article order.
7193 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7194 by number, you could do something like:
7197 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7198 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7199 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7200 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7203 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7204 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7205 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7206 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7207 which the articles arrived.
7209 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7213 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7214 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7215 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7218 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7219 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7220 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7221 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7224 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7225 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7226 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7227 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7228 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7229 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7230 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7231 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7232 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7233 variable. It is very similar to the
7234 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7235 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7236 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7237 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7238 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7239 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7240 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7242 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7246 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7247 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7248 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7251 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7252 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7255 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7256 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7257 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7258 @cindex article pre-fetch
7261 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7262 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7263 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7264 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7265 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7267 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7268 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7270 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7271 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7272 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7273 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7274 connection is blocked.
7276 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7277 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7278 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7279 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7281 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7282 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7283 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7284 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7287 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7290 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7291 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7292 happen automatically.
7294 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7295 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7296 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7297 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7298 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7299 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7300 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7302 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7303 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7304 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7305 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7306 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7307 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7308 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7309 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7310 article data structure as the only parameter.
7312 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7313 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7316 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7317 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7318 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7319 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7322 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7325 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7326 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7327 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7329 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7330 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7331 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7332 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7336 Remove articles when they are read.
7339 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7342 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7344 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7345 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7346 @c from the next group.
7349 @node Article Caching
7350 @section Article Caching
7351 @cindex article caching
7354 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7355 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7356 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7357 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7358 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7360 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7362 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7363 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7364 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7365 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7366 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7367 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7368 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7369 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7371 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7372 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7373 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7374 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7375 as dormant, and don't worry.
7377 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7379 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7380 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7381 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7382 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7383 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7384 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7385 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7386 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7387 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7388 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7390 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7391 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7392 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7393 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7394 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7395 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7396 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7397 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7398 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7399 not then be downloaded by this command.
7401 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7402 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7403 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7404 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7405 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7406 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7408 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7409 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7410 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7411 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7412 variables, the group is not cached.
7414 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7415 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7416 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7417 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7418 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7419 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7420 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7421 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7422 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7425 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7426 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7427 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7428 where, isn't that cool?
7430 @node Persistent Articles
7431 @section Persistent Articles
7432 @cindex persistent articles
7434 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7435 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7436 useful in my opinion.
7438 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7439 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7440 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7441 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7442 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7443 the expiry going on at the news server.
7445 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7446 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7447 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7453 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7454 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7457 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7458 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7459 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7460 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7464 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7466 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7467 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7468 interested in persistent articles:
7471 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7475 @node Article Backlog
7476 @section Article Backlog
7478 @cindex article backlog
7480 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7481 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7482 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7483 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7484 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7485 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7486 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7487 increase memory usage some.
7489 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7490 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7491 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7492 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7493 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7494 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7495 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7497 The default value is 20.
7500 @node Saving Articles
7501 @section Saving Articles
7502 @cindex saving articles
7504 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7505 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7506 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7507 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7508 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7510 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7511 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7512 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7514 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7515 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7516 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7518 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7519 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7520 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7521 deleted before saving.
7527 @kindex O o (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7530 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7531 Save the current article using the default article saver
7532 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7535 @kindex O m (Summary)
7536 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7537 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7538 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7541 @kindex O r (Summary)
7542 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7543 Save the current article in Rmail format
7544 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7547 @kindex O f (Summary)
7548 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7549 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7550 Save the current article in plain file format
7551 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7554 @kindex O F (Summary)
7555 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7556 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7557 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7560 @kindex O b (Summary)
7561 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7562 Save the current article body in plain file format
7563 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7566 @kindex O h (Summary)
7567 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7568 Save the current article in mh folder format
7569 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7572 @kindex O v (Summary)
7573 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7574 Save the current article in a VM folder
7575 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7579 @kindex O p (Summary)
7581 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7582 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7583 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7584 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7585 complete headers in the piped output.
7588 @kindex O P (Summary)
7589 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7590 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7591 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7592 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7593 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7594 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7595 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7599 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7600 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7601 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7602 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7603 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7604 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7605 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7606 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7607 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7608 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7609 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7610 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7614 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7615 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7616 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7617 functions below, or you can create your own.
7621 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7622 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7623 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7624 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7625 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7626 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7627 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7629 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7630 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7631 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7632 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7633 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7634 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7636 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7637 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7638 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7639 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7640 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7641 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7642 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7644 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7645 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7646 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7647 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7648 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7649 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7651 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7652 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7653 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7654 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7655 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7657 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7658 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7659 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7660 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7661 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7662 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7664 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7665 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7666 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7667 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7668 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7671 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7672 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7673 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7674 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7675 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7677 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7678 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7679 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7680 reader to use this setting.
7683 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7687 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7688 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7689 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7690 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file}, and
7691 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7694 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7695 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7696 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7697 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7698 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7699 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7702 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7703 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7704 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7705 headers should be saved.
7708 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7709 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7710 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7711 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7714 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7715 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7716 available functions that generate names:
7720 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7721 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7722 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7724 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7725 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7726 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7728 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7729 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7730 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7732 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7733 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7734 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7736 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7737 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7738 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7741 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7742 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7743 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7744 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7745 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7749 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7750 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7751 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7752 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7755 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7756 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7757 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7758 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7759 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7760 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7761 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7762 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7763 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7765 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7766 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7767 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7768 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7770 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7771 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7772 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7775 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7776 lots of mail groups called things like
7777 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7778 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7779 following will do just that:
7782 (defun my-save-name (group)
7783 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7784 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7786 (setq gnus-split-methods
7787 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7792 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7793 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7794 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7795 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7796 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7797 all the files in the top level directory
7798 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7799 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7800 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7801 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7803 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7804 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7805 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7806 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7807 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7810 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7814 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7815 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7816 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7819 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7820 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7821 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7822 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7825 @node Decoding Articles
7826 @section Decoding Articles
7827 @cindex decoding articles
7829 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7830 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7833 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7834 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7835 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7836 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7837 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7838 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7842 @cindex article series
7843 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7844 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7845 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7846 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7847 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7849 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7850 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7851 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7853 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7854 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7855 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7857 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7858 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7859 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7862 @node Uuencoded Articles
7863 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7865 @cindex uuencoded articles
7870 @kindex X u (Summary)
7871 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7872 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7873 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7876 @kindex X U (Summary)
7877 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7878 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7879 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7882 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7883 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7884 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7887 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7888 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7889 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7890 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7894 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7895 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7896 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7897 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7898 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7900 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7901 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7902 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7903 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7906 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7907 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7908 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7909 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7910 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7911 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7915 @node Shell Archives
7916 @subsection Shell Archives
7918 @cindex shell archives
7919 @cindex shared articles
7921 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7922 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7923 some commands to deal with these:
7928 @kindex X s (Summary)
7929 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7930 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7933 @kindex X S (Summary)
7934 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7935 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7938 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7939 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7940 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7943 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7944 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7945 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7946 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7950 @node PostScript Files
7951 @subsection PostScript Files
7957 @kindex X p (Summary)
7958 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7959 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7962 @kindex X P (Summary)
7963 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7964 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7965 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7968 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7970 View the current PostScript series
7971 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7974 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7975 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7976 View and save the current PostScript series
7977 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7982 @subsection Other Files
7986 @kindex X o (Summary)
7987 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7988 Save the current series
7989 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7992 @kindex X b (Summary)
7993 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7994 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7995 doesn't really work yet.
7999 @node Decoding Variables
8000 @subsection Decoding Variables
8002 Adjective, not verb.
8005 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8006 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8007 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8011 @node Rule Variables
8012 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8013 @cindex rule variables
8015 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8016 variables are of the form
8019 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8026 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8027 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8029 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8030 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8033 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8034 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8037 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8038 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8039 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8040 user and default view rules.
8042 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8043 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8044 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8049 @node Other Decode Variables
8050 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8053 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8055 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8056 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8057 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8058 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8059 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8063 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8064 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8067 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8068 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8069 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8072 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8073 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8074 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8075 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8076 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8079 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8080 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8081 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8083 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8084 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8085 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8086 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8087 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8090 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8091 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8092 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8094 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8095 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8096 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8097 looking for files to display.
8099 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8100 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8101 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8104 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8105 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8106 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8109 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8110 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8111 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8114 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8115 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8116 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8119 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8120 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8121 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8122 decoded articles as unread.
8124 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8125 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8126 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8127 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8129 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8130 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8131 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8133 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8134 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8136 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8137 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8138 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8139 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8141 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8142 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8143 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8144 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8145 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8146 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8147 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8148 simply dropped them.
8153 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8154 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8158 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8159 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8160 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8161 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8162 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8163 for you when you post the article.
8165 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8166 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8167 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8168 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8170 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8171 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8172 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8173 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8174 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8175 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8176 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8178 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8179 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8180 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8181 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8182 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8183 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8184 Default is @code{t}.
8190 @subsection Viewing Files
8191 @cindex viewing files
8192 @cindex pseudo-articles
8194 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8195 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8196 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8197 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8198 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8199 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8200 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8202 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8203 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8204 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8205 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8207 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8208 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8209 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8211 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8212 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8213 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8214 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8215 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8217 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8218 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8219 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8220 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8221 a list of parameters to that command.
8223 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8224 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8225 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8227 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8228 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8229 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8232 @node Article Treatment
8233 @section Article Treatment
8235 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8236 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8237 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8238 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8239 these articles easier.
8242 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8243 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8244 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8245 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8246 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8247 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8248 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8249 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8250 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8251 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8252 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8256 @node Article Highlighting
8257 @subsection Article Highlighting
8258 @cindex highlighting
8260 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8261 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8266 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8267 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8268 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8269 Do much highlighting of the current article
8270 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8271 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8274 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8275 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8276 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8277 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8278 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8279 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8280 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8281 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8282 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8283 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8284 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8285 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8288 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8289 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8290 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8292 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8295 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8297 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8298 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8299 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8301 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8302 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8303 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8305 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8306 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8307 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8308 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8309 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8310 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8312 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8313 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8314 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8316 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8317 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8318 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8320 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8321 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8322 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8323 that it's a citation.
8325 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8326 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8327 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8329 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8330 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8331 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8333 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8334 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8335 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8336 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8338 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8339 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8340 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8341 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8342 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8349 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8350 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8351 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8352 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8353 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8354 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8355 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8356 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8361 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8364 @node Article Fontisizing
8365 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8367 @cindex article emphasis
8369 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8370 @kindex W e (Summary)
8371 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8372 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8373 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8374 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8376 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8377 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8378 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8379 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8380 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8381 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8382 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8383 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8387 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8388 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8389 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8398 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8399 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8400 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8401 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8402 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8403 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8404 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8405 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8406 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8407 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8408 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8409 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8410 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8412 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8413 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8414 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8418 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8421 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8423 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8424 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8425 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8426 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8428 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8431 @node Article Hiding
8432 @subsection Article Hiding
8433 @cindex article hiding
8435 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8436 too much cruft in most articles.
8441 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8442 @findex gnus-article-hide
8443 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8444 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8445 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8448 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8449 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8450 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8454 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8455 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8456 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8457 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8460 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8461 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8462 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8466 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8467 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8468 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8469 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8470 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8471 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8472 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8473 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8477 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8478 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8479 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8480 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8485 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8487 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8488 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8491 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8492 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8493 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8494 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8497 @cindex stripping advertisements
8498 @cindex advertisements
8499 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8500 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8501 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8502 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8503 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8504 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8505 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8506 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8507 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8508 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8511 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8512 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8513 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8517 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8518 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8519 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8520 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8521 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8522 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8523 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8524 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8525 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8526 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8527 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8530 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8531 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8537 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8538 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8539 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8540 customizing the hiding:
8544 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8545 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8546 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8547 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8548 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8549 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8550 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8555 Starting point of the hidden text.
8557 Ending point of the hidden text.
8559 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8561 Number of lines of hidden text.
8564 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8565 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8566 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8567 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8568 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8573 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8574 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8576 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8577 following two variables:
8580 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8581 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8582 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8583 50), hide the cited text.
8585 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8586 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8587 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8592 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8593 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8594 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8595 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8596 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8597 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8601 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8602 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8603 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8605 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8606 citation customization.
8608 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8612 @node Article Washing
8613 @subsection Article Washing
8615 @cindex article washing
8617 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8618 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8620 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8621 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8624 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8625 articles by default.
8630 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8631 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8635 Force redisplaying of the current article
8636 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8637 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8638 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8639 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8642 @kindex W l (Summary)
8643 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8644 Remove page breaks from the current article
8645 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8649 @kindex W r (Summary)
8650 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8651 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8652 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8653 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8654 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8655 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8657 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8658 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8659 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8660 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8663 @kindex W m (Summary)
8664 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8665 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8668 @kindex W i (Summary)
8669 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8670 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8671 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8672 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8673 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8674 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8679 @kindex W t (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8682 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8683 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8686 @kindex W v (Summary)
8687 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8688 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8689 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8692 @kindex W o (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8694 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8697 @kindex W d (Summary)
8698 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8699 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8701 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8703 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8704 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8705 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8706 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8709 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8710 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8711 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8712 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8715 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8716 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8717 @cindex Outlook Express
8718 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8719 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8720 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8723 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8725 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8726 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8727 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8728 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8729 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8730 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8731 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8732 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8735 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8736 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8737 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8738 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8741 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8742 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8743 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8744 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8747 @kindex W w (Summary)
8748 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8749 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8751 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8755 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8756 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8757 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8760 @kindex W C (Summary)
8761 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8762 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8763 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8766 @kindex W c (Summary)
8767 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8768 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8769 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8770 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8771 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8774 @kindex W q (Summary)
8775 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8776 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8777 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8778 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8779 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8780 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8781 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8782 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8783 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8786 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8787 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8788 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8789 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8790 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8791 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8792 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8793 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8796 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8797 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8798 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8799 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8800 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8803 @kindex W A (Summary)
8804 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8805 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8806 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8807 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8808 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8811 @kindex W u (Summary)
8812 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8813 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8814 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8815 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8816 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8819 @kindex W h (Summary)
8820 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8821 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8822 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8823 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8825 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
8826 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
8827 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
8829 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8830 The default is to use the function specified by
8831 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8832 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8833 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8834 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8842 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8844 @item w3m-standalone
8845 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
8848 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8851 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8854 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8859 @kindex W b (Summary)
8860 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8861 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8862 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8865 @kindex W B (Summary)
8866 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8867 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8868 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8871 @kindex W p (Summary)
8872 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8873 Verify a signed control message
8874 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8875 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8876 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8877 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8878 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8879 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8882 @kindex W s (Summary)
8883 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8884 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8885 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8886 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8889 @kindex W a (Summary)
8890 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8891 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8892 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8895 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8896 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8897 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8898 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8901 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8903 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8904 lines with a single empty line.
8905 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8908 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8909 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8910 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8911 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8914 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8915 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8916 Do all the three commands above
8917 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8920 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8921 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8922 Remove all blank lines
8923 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8926 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8927 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8928 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8929 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8932 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8933 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8934 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8935 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8939 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8942 @node Article Header
8943 @subsection Article Header
8945 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8950 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8951 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8952 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8955 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8956 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8957 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8958 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8961 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8962 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8963 Fold all the message headers
8964 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8967 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8968 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8969 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8970 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8975 @node Article Buttons
8976 @subsection Article Buttons
8979 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8980 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8981 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8982 button on these references.
8984 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8985 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8986 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8987 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8988 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8992 @item gnus-button-alist
8993 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8994 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8997 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9003 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9004 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9005 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9006 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9007 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9010 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9011 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9012 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9015 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9016 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9017 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9018 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9019 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9021 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9024 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9027 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9028 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9032 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9035 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9038 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9039 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9040 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9041 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9042 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9045 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9048 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9051 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9054 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9055 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9057 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9059 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9060 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9061 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9062 default values of the variables above.
9064 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9066 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9067 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9068 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9069 argument with a string naming the man page.
9071 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9073 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9074 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9075 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9077 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9078 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9079 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9080 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9081 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9082 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9083 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9084 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
9085 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9086 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9087 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9088 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9090 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9091 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9092 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9093 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9094 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9097 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9098 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9099 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9100 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9102 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
9104 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
9105 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
9106 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
9107 argument, the string naming the URL.
9110 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
9111 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
9112 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
9116 @item gnus-article-button-face
9117 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9118 Face used on buttons.
9120 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9121 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9122 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9126 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9129 @node Article Button Levels
9130 @subsection Article button levels
9131 @cindex button levels
9132 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9133 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9134 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9135 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9136 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9137 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9138 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9139 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9142 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9143 (setq gnus-parameters
9144 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9145 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9146 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9151 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9152 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9153 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9154 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9155 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9156 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9158 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9159 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9160 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9161 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9162 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9163 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9164 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9165 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9166 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9167 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9168 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9169 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9170 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9172 @item gnus-button-man-level
9173 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9174 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9175 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9177 @item gnus-button-message-level
9178 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9179 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9180 Related variables and functions include
9181 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9182 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9183 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9184 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9186 @item gnus-button-tex-level
9187 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
9188 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
9189 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
9190 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
9191 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
9192 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
9198 @subsection Article Date
9200 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9201 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9202 when the article was sent.
9207 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9208 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9209 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9210 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9213 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9214 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9216 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9217 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9220 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9221 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9222 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9225 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9226 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9227 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9228 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9231 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9232 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9233 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9234 @findex format-time-string
9235 Display the date using a user-defined format
9236 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9237 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9238 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9239 for a list of possible format specs.
9242 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9243 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9244 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9245 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9246 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9247 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9250 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9253 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9254 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9255 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9258 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9259 into wonderful absurdities.
9261 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9264 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9267 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9268 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9272 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9273 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9274 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9275 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9276 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9277 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9278 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9282 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9283 preferred format automatically.
9286 @node Article Display
9287 @subsection Article Display
9292 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9293 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9295 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9296 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9298 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9299 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9301 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9302 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9304 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9305 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9307 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9312 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9313 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9314 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9315 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9318 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9319 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9320 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9321 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9324 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9325 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9326 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9329 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9330 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9331 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9334 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9335 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9336 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9337 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9340 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9341 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9342 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9343 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9346 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9347 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9348 Remove all images from the article buffer
9349 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9355 @node Article Signature
9356 @subsection Article Signature
9358 @cindex article signature
9360 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9361 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9362 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9363 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9364 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9365 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9366 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9367 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9368 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9371 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9372 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9373 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9374 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9375 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9376 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9377 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9378 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9381 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9384 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9385 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9386 signature when displaying articles.
9390 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9393 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9396 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9397 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9399 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9400 in question is not a signature.
9403 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9404 listed above. Here's an example:
9407 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9408 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9411 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9412 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9413 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9414 signature after all.
9417 @node Article Miscellanea
9418 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9422 @kindex A t (Summary)
9423 @findex gnus-article-babel
9424 Translate the article from one language to another
9425 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9431 @section MIME Commands
9432 @cindex MIME decoding
9434 @cindex viewing attachments
9436 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9437 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9443 @kindex K v (Summary)
9444 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9447 @kindex K o (Summary)
9448 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9451 @kindex K O (Summary)
9452 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9453 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9454 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9457 @kindex K r (Summary)
9458 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9461 @kindex K d (Summary)
9462 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9466 @kindex K c (Summary)
9467 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9470 @kindex K e (Summary)
9471 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9474 @kindex K i (Summary)
9475 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9478 @kindex K | (Summary)
9479 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9482 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9487 @kindex K b (Summary)
9488 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9489 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9493 @kindex K m (Summary)
9494 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9495 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9496 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9497 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9498 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9501 @kindex X m (Summary)
9502 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9503 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9504 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9505 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9508 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9509 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9510 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9511 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9514 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9515 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9516 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9517 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9520 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9521 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9522 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9523 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9525 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9526 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9527 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9528 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9529 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9530 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9533 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9534 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9535 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9536 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9543 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9544 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9545 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9546 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9549 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9552 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9556 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9557 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9558 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9559 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9560 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9561 default is @code{nil}.
9563 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9564 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9567 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9568 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9569 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9570 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9571 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9572 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9573 for encoding in Gnus.
9575 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9576 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9577 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9578 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9579 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9580 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9581 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9582 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9584 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9585 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9586 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9587 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9588 displayed. This variable overrides
9589 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9590 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9593 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9594 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9595 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9597 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9598 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9599 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9600 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9601 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9603 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9604 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9605 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9606 default value is @code{nil}.
9608 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9609 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9610 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9611 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9612 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9613 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9614 save all jpegs into some directory).
9616 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9619 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9620 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9622 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9623 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9624 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9625 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9626 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9629 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9630 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9631 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9633 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9634 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9635 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9637 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9638 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9639 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9641 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9642 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9643 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9644 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9645 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9647 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9648 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9649 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9650 overrides @code{nil} values of
9651 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9652 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9654 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9655 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9656 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9657 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9659 Ready-made functions include@*
9660 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9661 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9662 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9663 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9664 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9665 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9666 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9667 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9668 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9669 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9670 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9671 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9673 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9674 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9676 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9677 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9678 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9681 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9682 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9683 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9684 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9688 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9697 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9698 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9699 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9700 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9701 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9702 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9703 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9705 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9706 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9707 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9708 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9710 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9711 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9712 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9713 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9714 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9715 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9716 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9717 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9718 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9720 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9721 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9722 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9723 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9724 quoted-printable header encoding.
9726 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9727 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9728 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9732 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9735 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9736 means encode all charsets),
9738 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9739 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9740 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9747 @cindex coding system aliases
9748 @cindex preferred charset
9750 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9751 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9752 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9754 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9756 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9757 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9760 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9761 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9764 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9765 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9767 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9770 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9773 This will almost do the right thing.
9775 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9779 (codepage-setup 1251)
9780 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9784 @node Article Commands
9785 @section Article Commands
9792 @kindex A P (Summary)
9793 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9794 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9795 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9796 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9797 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9798 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9803 @node Summary Sorting
9804 @section Summary Sorting
9805 @cindex summary sorting
9807 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9808 can't really see why you'd want that.
9813 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9814 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9815 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9818 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9819 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9820 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9823 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
9824 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
9825 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
9828 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9829 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9830 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9833 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9834 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9835 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9838 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9839 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9840 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9843 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9844 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9845 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9848 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9849 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9850 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9853 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9854 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9855 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9858 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9859 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9860 Sort using the default sorting method
9861 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9864 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9865 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9866 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9867 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9868 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9872 @node Finding the Parent
9873 @section Finding the Parent
9874 @cindex parent articles
9875 @cindex referring articles
9880 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9881 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9882 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9883 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9884 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9885 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9886 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9887 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9888 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9890 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9891 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9892 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9893 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9894 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9898 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9899 @kindex A R (Summary)
9900 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9901 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9904 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9905 @kindex A T (Summary)
9906 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9907 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9908 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9909 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9910 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9911 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9912 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9914 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9915 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9916 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9917 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9918 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9919 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9922 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9923 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9925 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9926 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
9927 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
9928 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
9929 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
9930 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9932 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
9933 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
9934 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
9937 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9938 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9939 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9940 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9941 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9942 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9945 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9946 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9947 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9950 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9951 then ask Google if that fails:
9954 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9956 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9959 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9960 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9961 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9962 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9963 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9964 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9965 not support this at all.
9968 @node Alternative Approaches
9969 @section Alternative Approaches
9971 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9972 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9975 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9976 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9981 @subsection Pick and Read
9982 @cindex pick and read
9984 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9985 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9986 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9987 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9989 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9990 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9991 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9992 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9993 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9994 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9996 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10001 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10002 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10003 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10004 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10005 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10006 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10007 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10008 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10011 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10012 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10013 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10014 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10018 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10019 Unpick the thread or article
10020 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10021 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10022 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10023 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10024 the thread or article at that line.
10028 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10029 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10030 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10031 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10032 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10033 will still be visible when you are reading.
10037 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10038 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10039 which is mapped to the same function
10040 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10042 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10045 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10048 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10049 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10051 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10052 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10053 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10055 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10056 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10057 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10058 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10059 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10060 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10061 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10064 @node Binary Groups
10065 @subsection Binary Groups
10066 @cindex binary groups
10068 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10069 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10070 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10071 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10072 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10073 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10074 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10077 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10078 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10079 command, when you have turned on this mode
10080 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10082 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10083 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10087 @section Tree Display
10090 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10091 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10092 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10093 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10094 in the tree buffer.
10096 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10099 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10100 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10101 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10103 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10104 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10105 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10106 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10107 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10109 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10110 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10111 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10112 default is @code{modeline}.
10114 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10115 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10116 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10117 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10118 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10119 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10120 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10126 The name of the poster.
10128 The @code{From} header.
10130 The number of the article.
10132 The opening bracket.
10134 The closing bracket.
10139 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10141 Variables related to the display are:
10144 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10145 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10146 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10147 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10149 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10150 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10151 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10153 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10155 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10156 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10157 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10158 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10162 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10163 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10164 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10165 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10166 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10167 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10168 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10169 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10170 other windows displayed next to it.
10172 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10176 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10177 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10180 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10181 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10182 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10183 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10184 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10185 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10186 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10190 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10193 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10203 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10208 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10209 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10211 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10213 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10219 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10220 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10221 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10224 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10225 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10226 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10227 (gnus-add-configuration
10231 (summary 0.75 point)
10236 @xref{Window Layout}.
10239 @node Mail Group Commands
10240 @section Mail Group Commands
10241 @cindex mail group commands
10243 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10244 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10246 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10247 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10252 @kindex B e (Summary)
10253 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10254 @cindex expiring mail
10255 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10256 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10257 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10258 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10261 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10262 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10263 @cindex expiring mail
10264 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10265 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10266 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10267 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10270 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10271 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10272 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10273 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10274 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10275 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10278 @kindex B m (Summary)
10280 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10281 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10282 Move the article from one mail group to another
10283 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10284 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10287 @kindex B c (Summary)
10289 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10290 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10291 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10292 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10293 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10296 @kindex B B (Summary)
10297 @cindex crosspost mail
10298 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10299 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10300 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10301 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10302 be properly updated.
10305 @kindex B i (Summary)
10306 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10307 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10308 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10309 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10312 @kindex B I (Summary)
10313 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10314 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10315 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10316 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10319 @kindex B r (Summary)
10320 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10321 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10322 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10323 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10324 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10325 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10326 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10327 (which is the default).
10331 @kindex B w (Summary)
10332 @kindex e (Summary)
10333 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10334 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10335 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10336 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10337 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10338 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10339 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10342 @kindex B q (Summary)
10343 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10344 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10345 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10346 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10349 @kindex B t (Summary)
10350 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10351 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10352 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10355 @kindex B p (Summary)
10356 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10357 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10358 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10359 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10360 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10361 article from your news server (or rather, from
10362 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10363 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10364 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10365 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10366 just not have arrived yet.
10369 @kindex K E (Summary)
10370 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10371 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10372 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10373 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10374 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10378 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10379 @cindex moving articles
10380 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10381 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10382 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10383 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10384 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10385 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10386 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10389 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10390 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10391 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10392 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10396 @node Various Summary Stuff
10397 @section Various Summary Stuff
10400 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10401 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10402 * Summary Generation Commands::
10403 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10407 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10408 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10409 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10410 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10411 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10412 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10414 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10415 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10416 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10419 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10420 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10421 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10423 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10424 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10425 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10426 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10427 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10428 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10431 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10432 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10433 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10434 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10435 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10437 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10438 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10439 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10442 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10443 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10444 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10445 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10446 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10447 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10448 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10449 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10450 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10451 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10453 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10454 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10455 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10456 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10457 list of articles to be selected.
10459 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10460 the list in one particular group:
10463 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10464 (if (string= group "some.group")
10465 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10469 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10470 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10471 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10472 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10473 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10476 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10477 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10478 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10479 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10480 variable will be used instead.
10482 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10483 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10484 buffers. For example:
10487 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10488 '(message-use-followup-to
10489 (gnus-visible-headers .
10490 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10493 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10497 @node Summary Group Information
10498 @subsection Summary Group Information
10503 @kindex H f (Summary)
10504 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10505 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10506 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10507 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10508 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10509 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10510 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10511 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10512 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10515 @kindex H d (Summary)
10516 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10517 Give a brief description of the current group
10518 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10519 rereading the description from the server.
10522 @kindex H h (Summary)
10523 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10524 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10525 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10528 @kindex H i (Summary)
10529 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10530 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10534 @node Searching for Articles
10535 @subsection Searching for Articles
10540 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10541 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10542 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10543 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10546 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10547 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10548 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10549 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10552 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10553 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10554 Repeat the previous search forwards
10555 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10558 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10559 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10560 Repeat the previous search backwards
10561 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10564 @kindex & (Summary)
10565 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10566 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10567 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10568 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10569 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10570 search backward instead.
10572 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10573 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10576 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10577 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10578 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10579 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10582 @node Summary Generation Commands
10583 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10588 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10589 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10590 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10593 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10594 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10595 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10596 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10599 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10600 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10601 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10602 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10605 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10606 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10607 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10608 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10613 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10614 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10620 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10621 @kindex A D (Summary)
10622 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10623 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10624 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10625 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10626 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10627 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10628 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10629 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10633 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10634 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10635 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10636 several documents into one biiig group
10637 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10638 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10639 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10640 command understands the process/prefix convention
10641 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10644 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10645 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10646 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10647 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10648 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10649 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10652 @kindex = (Summary)
10653 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10654 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10655 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10658 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10659 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10660 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10661 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10664 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10665 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10666 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10667 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10672 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10673 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10674 @cindex summary exit
10675 @cindex exiting groups
10677 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10678 group and return you to the group buffer.
10685 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10686 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10687 @kindex q (Summary)
10688 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10689 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10690 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10691 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10692 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10693 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10694 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10695 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10696 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10697 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10698 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10699 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10703 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10704 @kindex Q (Summary)
10705 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10706 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10707 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10711 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10712 @kindex c (Summary)
10713 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10714 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10715 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10716 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10719 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10720 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10721 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10722 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10725 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10726 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10727 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10728 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10731 @kindex Z p (Summary)
10732 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
10733 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
10734 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
10738 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10739 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10740 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10741 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10742 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10743 all articles, both read and unread.
10747 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10748 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10749 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10750 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10751 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10752 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10753 articles, both read and unread.
10756 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10757 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10758 Exit the group and go to the next group
10759 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10762 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10763 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10764 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10765 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10768 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10769 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10770 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10771 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10772 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10773 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10776 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10777 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10778 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10779 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10781 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10782 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10783 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10784 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10785 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10786 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10787 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10788 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10789 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10790 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10791 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10792 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10794 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10796 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10797 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10798 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10799 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10800 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10801 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10802 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10803 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10804 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10807 @node Crosspost Handling
10808 @section Crosspost Handling
10812 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10813 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10814 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10815 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10816 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10817 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10820 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10821 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10822 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10823 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10824 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10826 @cindex cross-posting
10828 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10829 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10830 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10831 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10832 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10833 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10834 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10835 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10836 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10837 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10838 the cross reference mechanism.
10840 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10841 @cindex overview.fmt
10842 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10843 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10844 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10845 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10846 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10847 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10850 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10851 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10852 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10857 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10860 @node Duplicate Suppression
10861 @section Duplicate Suppression
10863 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10864 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10865 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10866 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10871 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10872 is evil and not very common.
10875 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10876 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10879 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10880 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10883 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10886 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10887 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10889 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10890 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10891 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10892 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10893 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10894 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10895 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10898 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10899 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10900 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10901 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10902 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10903 saw the article in.
10906 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10907 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10908 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10910 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10911 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10912 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10913 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10914 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10915 session are suppressed.
10917 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10918 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10919 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10920 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10922 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10923 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10924 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10925 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10928 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10929 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10930 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10931 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10932 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10933 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10934 to you to figure out, I think.
10939 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10940 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10941 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10946 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10947 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10948 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10949 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10952 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10953 or newer is recommended.
10957 The variables that control security functionality on reading messages
10961 @item mm-verify-option
10962 @vindex mm-verify-option
10963 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10964 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10965 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10967 @item mm-decrypt-option
10968 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10969 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10970 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10971 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10974 @vindex mml1991-use
10975 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10976 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10977 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10981 @vindex mml2015-use
10982 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10983 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10984 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10989 By default the buttons that display security information are not
10990 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
10991 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
10992 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
10993 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
10994 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
10995 how to customize these variables to always display security
10998 @cindex snarfing keys
10999 @cindex importing PGP keys
11000 @cindex PGP key ring import
11001 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11002 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11003 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11004 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11005 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11006 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11007 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11008 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11009 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11012 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11015 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11016 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11018 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11019 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11020 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11023 @section Mailing List
11024 @cindex mailing list
11027 @kindex A M (summary)
11028 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11029 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11030 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11031 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11034 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11039 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11040 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11041 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11044 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11045 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11046 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11049 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11050 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11051 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11055 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11056 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11057 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11060 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11061 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11062 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11065 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11066 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11067 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11072 @node Article Buffer
11073 @chapter Article Buffer
11074 @cindex article buffer
11076 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11077 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11078 tell Gnus otherwise.
11081 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11082 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11083 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11084 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11085 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11089 @node Hiding Headers
11090 @section Hiding Headers
11091 @cindex hiding headers
11092 @cindex deleting headers
11094 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11095 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11097 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11098 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11099 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11100 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11101 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11102 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11103 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11104 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11105 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11107 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11111 @item gnus-visible-headers
11112 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11113 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11114 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11115 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11117 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11118 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11121 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11124 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11127 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11128 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11129 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11130 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11131 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11132 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11134 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11135 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11138 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11141 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11144 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11145 variable will have no effect.
11149 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11150 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11151 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11152 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11153 the headers are to be displayed.
11155 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11156 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11159 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11162 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11163 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11165 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11166 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11167 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11168 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11169 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11170 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11171 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11174 These conditions are:
11177 Remove all empty headers.
11179 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11180 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11182 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11183 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11186 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11189 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11190 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11192 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11193 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11195 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11196 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11198 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11201 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11203 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11206 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11209 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11210 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11213 This is also the default value for this variable.
11217 @section Using MIME
11218 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11220 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11221 while people stand around yawning.
11223 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11224 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11226 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11227 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11228 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11230 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11231 @findex gnus-display-mime
11232 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11233 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11234 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11235 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11237 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11238 @acronym{MIME} button:
11241 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11242 @item RET (Article)
11243 @kindex RET (Article)
11244 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11245 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11246 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11247 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11248 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11249 object is displayed inline.
11251 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11252 @item M-RET (Article)
11253 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11255 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11256 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11258 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11260 @kindex t (Article)
11261 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11262 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11264 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11266 @kindex C (Article)
11267 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11268 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11270 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11272 @kindex o (Article)
11273 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11274 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11276 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11277 @item C-o (Article)
11278 @kindex C-o (Article)
11279 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11280 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11281 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11282 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11283 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11284 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11286 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11288 @kindex r (Article)
11289 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11290 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11291 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11293 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11295 @kindex d (Article)
11296 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11297 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11298 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11300 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11302 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11304 @kindex c (Article)
11305 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11306 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11307 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11308 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11309 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11310 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11311 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11312 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11314 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11316 @kindex p (Article)
11317 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11318 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11319 @file{.mailcap} file.
11321 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11323 @kindex i (Article)
11324 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11325 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
11326 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11327 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11328 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11329 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11330 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11331 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11332 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11334 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11336 @kindex E (Article)
11337 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11338 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11339 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11341 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11343 @kindex e (Article)
11344 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11345 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11347 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11349 @kindex | (Article)
11350 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11352 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11354 @kindex . (Article)
11355 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11356 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11360 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11361 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11362 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11364 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11365 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11366 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11367 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11368 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11369 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11370 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11371 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11372 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11374 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11376 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11379 @node Customizing Articles
11380 @section Customizing Articles
11381 @cindex article customization
11383 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11384 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11385 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11386 called automatically when you select the articles.
11388 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11389 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11390 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11391 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11393 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11394 for sensible values.
11398 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11401 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11404 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11407 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11410 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11413 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11417 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11418 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11419 regexps in the list.
11422 A list where the first element is not a string:
11424 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11425 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11426 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11430 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11435 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11436 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11437 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11438 considered to contain just a single part.
11440 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11441 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11442 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11443 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11444 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11445 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11446 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11449 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11450 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11452 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11453 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11454 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11455 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11456 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11457 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11458 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11459 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11460 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11461 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11462 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11463 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11464 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
11465 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
11466 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
11467 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
11468 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
11469 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
11470 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
11471 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11472 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11473 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11474 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11475 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11476 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11477 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11478 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11479 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11480 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11481 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11482 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11483 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11484 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11485 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11486 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11487 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11488 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11489 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11490 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11491 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11492 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11493 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11494 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11495 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11496 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11497 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11500 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11501 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11502 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11503 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11506 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11507 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11509 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11511 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11512 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11513 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11514 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11515 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11516 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11517 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11518 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11519 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11520 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11522 @xref{Article Washing}.
11524 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11525 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11526 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11527 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11528 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11529 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11530 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11532 @xref{Article Date}.
11534 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11535 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11536 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11540 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11542 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11544 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11545 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11546 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11550 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11551 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11555 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11556 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11560 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11561 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11562 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11563 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11564 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11565 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11566 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11567 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11568 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11569 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11570 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11571 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11572 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11573 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11574 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11575 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11576 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11577 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11578 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11579 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11581 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11583 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11584 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11585 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11586 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11587 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11588 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11590 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11592 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11593 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11594 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11595 @item gnus-treat-translate
11596 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11597 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11598 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11600 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11601 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11602 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11603 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11604 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11605 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11606 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11607 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11609 @xref{Article Header}.
11614 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11615 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11616 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11617 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11618 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11622 @node Article Keymap
11623 @section Article Keymap
11625 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11626 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11627 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11628 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11631 @kindex v (Article)
11632 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
11633 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
11634 function or better use it as a prefix key.
11636 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11641 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11642 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11643 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11644 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11647 @kindex DEL (Article)
11648 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11649 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11650 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11653 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11654 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11655 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11656 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11657 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11660 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11661 @findex gnus-article-mail
11662 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11663 given a prefix, include the mail.
11666 @kindex s (Article)
11667 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11668 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11669 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11672 @kindex ? (Article)
11673 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11674 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11675 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11678 @kindex TAB (Article)
11679 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11680 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11681 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11684 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11685 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11686 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11689 @kindex R (Article)
11690 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11691 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11692 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11693 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11697 @kindex F (Article)
11698 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11699 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11700 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11701 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11709 @section Misc Article
11713 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11714 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11715 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11716 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11719 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11720 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11721 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11722 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11723 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11725 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11726 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11727 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11728 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11729 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11730 the contents of the article buffer.
11732 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11733 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11734 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11736 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11737 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11738 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11739 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11741 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11742 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11743 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11744 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11746 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11747 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11748 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11749 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11750 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11751 with two extensions:
11756 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11757 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11758 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11763 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11766 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11769 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11770 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11771 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11774 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11777 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11780 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11785 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11789 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11791 @item gnus-break-pages
11792 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11793 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11794 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11795 paging will not be done.
11797 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11798 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11799 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11803 @cindex internationalized domain names
11804 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11805 @item gnus-use-idna
11806 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11807 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11808 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
11809 for how to compose such messages. This requires
11810 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11811 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11816 @node Composing Messages
11817 @chapter Composing Messages
11818 @cindex composing messages
11821 @cindex sending mail
11826 @cindex using s/mime
11827 @cindex using smime
11829 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11830 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11831 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11832 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11833 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11834 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11837 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11838 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11839 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11840 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11841 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11842 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11843 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11844 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11845 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11848 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11849 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11855 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11858 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11859 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11860 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11861 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11862 @code{nil} include all headers.
11864 @item gnus-add-to-list
11865 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11866 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11867 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11869 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11870 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11871 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
11872 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
11873 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
11874 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
11875 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
11876 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
11878 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11879 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
11881 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11882 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11883 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11884 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11885 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11890 @node Posting Server
11891 @section Posting Server
11893 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11894 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11896 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11898 It can be quite complicated.
11900 @vindex gnus-post-method
11901 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11902 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11903 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11904 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11905 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11906 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11907 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11908 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11909 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11912 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11915 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11916 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11917 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11918 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11920 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11921 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11923 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11924 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11927 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11928 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11930 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11931 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11932 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11933 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11934 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11935 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11936 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11937 package correctly. An example:
11940 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11941 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11944 To the thing similar to this, there is
11945 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11946 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11947 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11949 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11950 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11951 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11953 @node POP before SMTP
11954 @section POP before SMTP
11955 @cindex pop before smtp
11956 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11957 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11959 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11960 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11961 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11962 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11963 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11966 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11967 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11971 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11972 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11973 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11974 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11975 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11976 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11977 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11978 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11980 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11981 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11982 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11983 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11984 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11985 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11988 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11989 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11990 :password "secret"))
11994 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11995 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11998 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12000 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12001 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12002 :password "secret")))
12003 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12006 @node Mail and Post
12007 @section Mail and Post
12009 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12013 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12014 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12015 @cindex mailing lists
12017 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12018 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12019 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12020 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12021 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12022 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12023 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12024 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12025 still a pain, though.
12027 @item gnus-user-agent
12028 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12031 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12032 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12033 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12034 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12035 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12036 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12037 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12041 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12042 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12043 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12046 @findex ispell-message
12048 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12051 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12052 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12055 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12059 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12060 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12062 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12065 Modify to suit your needs.
12067 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12068 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12069 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12072 @node Archived Messages
12073 @section Archived Messages
12074 @cindex archived messages
12075 @cindex sent messages
12077 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12078 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12079 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12080 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12083 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12084 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12087 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12088 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12089 use to store sent messages. The default is:
12092 (nnfolder "archive"
12093 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12094 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12095 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12096 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12099 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12100 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12101 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12102 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12105 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12106 '(nnfolder "archive"
12107 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12108 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12109 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12112 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12114 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12115 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12116 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12118 This variable can be used to do the following:
12122 Messages will be saved in that group.
12124 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12125 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12126 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12127 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12128 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12129 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12130 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12131 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12134 @item a list of strings
12135 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12137 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12138 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12141 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
12146 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12148 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12151 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12153 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12156 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12158 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12159 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12160 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12161 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12164 More complex stuff:
12166 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12167 '((if (message-news-p)
12172 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12173 messages in one file per month:
12176 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12177 '((if (message-news-p)
12179 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12182 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
12183 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
12185 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12186 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12187 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12188 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12189 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12190 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12191 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12192 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12193 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12194 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12196 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
12197 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
12198 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
12199 this will disable archiving.
12202 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
12203 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
12204 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
12205 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
12206 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
12209 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
12210 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
12211 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
12214 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
12215 but the latter is the preferred method.
12217 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12218 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12219 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12221 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12222 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12223 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12224 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12225 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12226 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12227 changed in the future.
12232 @node Posting Styles
12233 @section Posting Styles
12234 @cindex posting styles
12237 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12239 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12240 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12241 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12244 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12245 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12246 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12247 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12248 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12253 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12254 (organization "What me?"))
12256 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12257 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12258 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12261 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12262 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12263 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12264 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12265 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12266 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12267 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12268 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12270 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12271 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12272 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12273 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12274 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12275 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12276 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12277 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12278 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12279 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12280 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12281 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12282 said to @dfn{match}.
12284 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12285 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12286 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12287 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12288 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12289 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12290 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12291 name can be one of:
12294 @item @code{signature}
12295 @item @code{signature-file}
12296 @item @code{x-face-file}
12297 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12298 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12302 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12303 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12305 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12306 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12307 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12308 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12309 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12311 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
12312 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
12313 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
12314 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12315 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
12316 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
12317 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
12318 references chars lines xref extra.
12320 @vindex message-reply-headers
12322 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12323 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12324 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12326 @findex message-mail-p
12327 @findex message-news-p
12329 So here's a new example:
12332 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12334 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12336 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12337 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12338 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12340 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12341 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12342 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12343 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12344 (signature my-news-signature))
12345 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12346 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12347 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12348 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12349 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12350 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12351 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12352 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12353 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12354 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12356 (From (save-excursion
12357 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
12358 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12360 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12363 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12364 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12365 if you fill many roles.
12366 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12367 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12373 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12374 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12375 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12376 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12377 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12379 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12380 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12381 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12382 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12383 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12387 @vindex nndraft-directory
12388 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12389 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12390 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12391 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12392 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12393 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12395 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12396 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12397 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12398 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12399 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12400 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12401 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12402 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12403 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12405 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12406 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12407 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12408 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12409 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12410 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12411 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12412 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12413 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12414 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12415 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12416 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12417 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12418 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12420 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12421 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12422 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12424 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12425 @kindex D e (Draft)
12426 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12427 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12428 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12430 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12433 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12434 @kindex D s (Draft)
12435 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12436 @kindex D S (Draft)
12437 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12438 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12439 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12440 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12441 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12444 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12445 @kindex D t (Draft)
12446 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12447 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12448 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12451 @node Rejected Articles
12452 @section Rejected Articles
12453 @cindex rejected articles
12455 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12456 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12457 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12458 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12460 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12461 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12462 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12463 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12464 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12466 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12467 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12468 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12470 @node Signing and encrypting
12471 @section Signing and encrypting
12473 @cindex using s/mime
12474 @cindex using smime
12476 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12477 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12478 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12479 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12481 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12482 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12483 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12484 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12485 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12486 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12487 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12488 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12489 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12490 automatically encrypted messages.
12492 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12493 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12494 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12499 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12500 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12502 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12505 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12506 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12508 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12511 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12512 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12514 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12517 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12518 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12520 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12523 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12524 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12526 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12529 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12530 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12532 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12535 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12536 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12537 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12541 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12543 @node Select Methods
12544 @chapter Select Methods
12545 @cindex foreign groups
12546 @cindex select methods
12548 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12549 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12550 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12551 personal mail group.
12553 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12554 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12555 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12556 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12557 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12558 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12560 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12561 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12563 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12566 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12567 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12568 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12569 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12570 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12572 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12575 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12576 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12577 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12578 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12579 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12580 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12581 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12582 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
12583 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12587 @node Server Buffer
12588 @section Server Buffer
12590 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12591 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12592 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12593 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12594 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12595 back end represents a virtual server.
12597 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12598 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12599 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12600 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12602 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12603 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12604 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12605 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12606 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12607 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12608 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12610 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12611 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12614 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12615 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12616 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12617 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12618 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12619 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12620 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12623 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12624 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12627 @node Server Buffer Format
12628 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12629 @cindex server buffer format
12631 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12632 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12633 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12634 variable, with some simple extensions:
12639 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12642 The name of this server.
12645 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12648 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12651 Whether this server is agentized.
12654 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12655 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12656 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12657 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12667 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12670 @node Server Commands
12671 @subsection Server Commands
12672 @cindex server commands
12678 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
12679 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
12680 function or better use it as a prefix key.
12684 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12685 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12689 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12690 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12693 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12694 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12695 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12699 @findex gnus-server-exit
12700 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12704 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12705 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12709 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12710 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12714 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12715 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12719 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12720 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12724 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12725 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12726 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12731 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12732 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12733 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12734 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12738 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
12740 Compact all groups in the server under point
12741 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
12742 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
12743 hence getting a correct total article count.
12748 @node Example Methods
12749 @subsection Example Methods
12751 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12754 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12757 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12763 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12764 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12767 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12768 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12770 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12771 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12775 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12778 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12779 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12781 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12782 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12783 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12787 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12790 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12793 Here's the method for a public spool:
12797 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12798 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12804 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12805 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12806 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12807 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12808 should probably look something like this:
12812 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12813 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12814 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12815 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12818 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12819 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12820 configuration to the example above:
12823 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12826 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
12827 an indirect connection:
12829 (setq gnus-select-method
12831 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
12832 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
12833 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
12834 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12835 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
12836 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
12837 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)))
12840 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12841 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12842 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12846 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12847 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12848 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12849 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12852 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12853 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12854 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12855 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12858 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12859 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12861 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12862 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12864 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12865 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12866 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12868 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12870 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12871 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12872 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12873 will contain the following:
12883 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12884 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12887 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12888 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12889 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12892 @node Server Variables
12893 @subsection Server Variables
12894 @cindex server variables
12895 @cindex server parameters
12897 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12898 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12899 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12900 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12901 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12903 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12904 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12905 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12906 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12907 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12908 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12909 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12910 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12911 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12915 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12916 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12917 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12920 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12922 @node Servers and Methods
12923 @subsection Servers and Methods
12925 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12926 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12927 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12928 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12932 @node Unavailable Servers
12933 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12935 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12936 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12937 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12938 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12939 actually the case or not.
12941 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12942 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12943 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12944 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12945 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12946 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12947 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12948 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12950 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12951 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12953 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12954 with the following commands:
12960 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12961 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12962 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12966 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12967 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12968 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12972 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12973 Mark the current server as unreachable
12974 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12977 @kindex M-o (Server)
12978 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12979 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12980 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12983 @kindex M-c (Server)
12984 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12985 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12986 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12990 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12991 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12992 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12996 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12997 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13003 @section Getting News
13004 @cindex reading news
13005 @cindex news back ends
13007 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13008 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13009 or it can read from a local spool.
13012 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13013 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13021 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13022 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13023 server as the, uhm, address.
13025 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13026 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13027 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13028 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13030 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13031 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13032 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13034 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13039 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13040 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13041 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13043 @cindex authentication
13044 @cindex nntp authentication
13045 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13046 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13047 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13048 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13049 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13050 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13051 present in this hook.
13053 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13054 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13055 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13056 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13057 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13058 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13059 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13060 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13061 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13062 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13063 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13064 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13068 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13071 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13073 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13074 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13075 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13076 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13077 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13078 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13079 @samp{force} is explained below.
13083 Here's an example file:
13086 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13087 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13090 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13091 have to be first, for instance.
13093 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13094 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13095 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13096 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13097 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13098 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13099 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13101 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13102 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13108 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13109 previously mentioned.
13111 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13113 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13114 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13115 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13116 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13117 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13120 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13121 '(("innd" (ding))))
13124 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13126 The default value is
13129 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13130 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13131 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13134 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13135 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13137 @item nntp-maximum-request
13138 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13139 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13140 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13141 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13142 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13143 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13144 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13146 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13147 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13148 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13149 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13150 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13151 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13152 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13153 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13154 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13155 no timeouts are done.
13157 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13158 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13159 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13160 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13163 @item nntp-xover-commands
13164 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13165 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13167 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13168 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13172 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13173 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13174 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13175 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13176 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13177 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13178 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13179 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13180 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13181 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13182 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13184 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13185 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13186 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13188 @item nntp-record-commands
13189 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13190 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13191 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13192 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13193 that doesn't seem to work.
13195 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13196 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13197 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13198 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13199 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13200 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13201 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13202 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13204 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13205 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13206 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13207 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13208 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13209 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13210 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13211 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13212 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13214 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13215 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13216 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13217 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13218 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13219 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13220 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13222 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13223 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13224 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13225 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13226 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13227 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13228 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13231 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13234 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13235 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13240 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13241 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13242 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13243 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13247 @node Direct Functions
13248 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13249 @cindex direct connection functions
13251 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13252 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13253 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13254 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13257 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13258 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13259 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13262 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13263 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13264 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13265 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
13266 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13269 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13270 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13272 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13273 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13274 (nntp-port-number )
13275 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13278 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13279 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13280 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13281 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13282 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13283 then define a server as follows:
13286 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13287 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13289 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13290 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13291 (nntp-port-number 563)
13292 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13295 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13296 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13297 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
13298 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
13299 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13300 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13301 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13302 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13306 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13307 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13308 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13311 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13312 session, which is not a good idea.
13316 @node Indirect Functions
13317 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13318 @cindex indirect connection functions
13320 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13321 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13322 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13323 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13324 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13325 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13328 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13329 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13330 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
13331 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13332 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13334 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13337 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13338 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13339 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13340 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13342 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13343 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13344 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13345 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13346 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13347 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
13348 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13349 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13353 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13354 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13356 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13357 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13358 Does essentially the same, but uses
13359 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} instead of @samp{telnet}
13360 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13362 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13365 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
13366 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
13367 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13368 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
13369 programs like @uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html,
13372 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
13373 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
13374 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13375 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
13377 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13378 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13379 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13380 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13382 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13383 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13384 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13385 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
13388 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13389 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13390 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13391 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13393 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13396 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13397 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13398 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13401 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13402 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13403 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13404 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13406 @item nntp-via-user-password
13407 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13408 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13410 @item nntp-via-envuser
13411 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13412 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13413 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13414 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13416 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13417 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13418 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13419 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13423 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13424 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13428 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13433 @item nntp-via-user-name
13434 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13435 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13437 @item nntp-via-address
13438 @vindex nntp-via-address
13439 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13444 @node Common Variables
13445 @subsubsection Common Variables
13447 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13448 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13449 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13450 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13451 variables individually).
13455 @item nntp-pre-command
13456 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13457 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13458 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13459 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13460 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13463 @vindex nntp-address
13464 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13466 @item nntp-port-number
13467 @vindex nntp-port-number
13468 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13469 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13470 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13471 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13472 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13473 not work with named ports.
13475 @item nntp-end-of-line
13476 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13477 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13478 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13479 using a non native telnet connection function.
13481 @item nntp-telnet-command
13482 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13483 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13484 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13485 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13488 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13489 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13490 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13496 @subsubsection NNTP marks
13497 @cindex storing NNTP marks
13499 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
13500 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
13501 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
13502 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
13503 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
13504 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
13505 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
13506 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
13508 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
13509 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
13510 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
13511 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
13512 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13514 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
13515 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
13516 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
13517 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
13518 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
13519 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
13520 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
13522 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
13523 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
13524 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13530 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
13531 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
13532 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
13533 default is @code{nil}.
13535 @item nntp-marks-directory
13536 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
13537 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
13543 @subsection News Spool
13547 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13548 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13549 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13552 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13553 anything else) as the address.
13555 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13556 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13557 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13558 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13562 @item nnspool-inews-program
13563 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13564 Program used to post an article.
13566 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13567 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13568 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13570 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13571 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13572 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13573 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13575 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13576 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13577 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13578 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13580 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13581 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13582 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13584 @item nnspool-active-file
13585 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13586 The name of the active file.
13588 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13589 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13590 The name of the group descriptions file.
13592 @item nnspool-history-file
13593 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13594 The name of the news history file.
13596 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13597 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13598 The name of the active date file.
13600 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13601 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13602 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13605 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13606 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13608 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13609 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13610 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13617 @section Getting Mail
13618 @cindex reading mail
13621 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13625 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13626 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13627 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13628 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13629 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13630 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13631 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13632 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13633 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13634 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13635 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13636 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13637 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13641 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13642 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13644 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13645 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13646 of a culture shock.
13648 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13649 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13651 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13652 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13653 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13654 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13656 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13658 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13659 deleted? How awful!
13661 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13662 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13663 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13664 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13667 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13668 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13669 they want to treat a message.
13671 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13672 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13673 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13674 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13675 archived somewhere else.
13677 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13678 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13679 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13680 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13681 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13683 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13684 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13685 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13687 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13688 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13691 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13692 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13693 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13694 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13695 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13697 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13698 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13699 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13700 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13701 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13702 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13706 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13707 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13709 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13710 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13711 and things will happen automatically.
13713 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13714 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13717 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13720 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13721 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13722 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13723 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13724 like any other group.
13726 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13729 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13730 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13731 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13735 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13736 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13737 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13740 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13741 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13742 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13745 @node Splitting Mail
13746 @subsection Splitting Mail
13747 @cindex splitting mail
13748 @cindex mail splitting
13749 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13751 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13752 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13753 to be split into groups.
13756 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13757 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13758 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13759 ("mail.other" "")))
13762 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13763 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13764 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13765 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13766 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13767 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13768 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13771 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13775 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13776 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13778 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13779 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13780 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13781 mail belongs in that group.
13783 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
13784 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13785 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
13786 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13787 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
13788 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
13789 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
13790 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
13791 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
13792 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
13794 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13795 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13796 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13797 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13798 thinks should carry this mail message.
13800 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13801 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13802 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13803 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13805 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13806 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13807 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13808 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13809 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
13811 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13814 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13815 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13816 links. If that's the case for you, set
13817 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13818 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13820 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13821 @findex nnmail-split-history
13822 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13823 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13824 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13825 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13828 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13829 Header lines longer than the value of
13830 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13833 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13834 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13835 By default, splitting @acronym{MIME}-decodes headers so you
13836 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13837 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13838 charset for decoding. The behavior can be turned off completely by
13839 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13840 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13842 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13843 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13844 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13845 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13846 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13847 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13848 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13849 other kinds of entries.)
13851 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13852 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13853 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13854 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13855 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13856 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13857 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13858 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13859 month's rent money.
13863 @subsection Mail Sources
13865 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13866 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13867 maildir, for instance.
13870 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13871 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13872 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13876 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13877 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13879 @cindex mail server
13882 @cindex mail source
13884 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13885 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13890 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13893 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13894 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13895 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13898 The following mail source types are available:
13902 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13908 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13909 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13910 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13914 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13917 An example file mail source:
13920 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13923 Or using the default file name:
13929 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13930 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13931 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13932 mail spool while moving the mail.
13934 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13938 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13941 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13945 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13948 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13950 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13953 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
13954 file you want to use.
13958 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13959 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13960 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13961 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13962 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13963 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13964 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13965 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13966 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13967 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13969 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13970 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13971 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13972 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13978 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13982 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13986 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13987 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13988 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13989 predicate are considered.
13993 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13997 An example directory mail source:
14000 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
14005 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14011 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
14012 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14015 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
14016 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
14017 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
14018 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
14019 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14022 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14026 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14027 the user is prompted.
14030 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14031 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14034 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14037 The valid format specifier characters are:
14041 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14042 included in this string.
14045 The name of the server.
14048 The port number of the server.
14051 The user name to use.
14054 The password to use.
14057 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14058 corresponding keywords.
14061 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14062 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14065 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14066 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14069 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14070 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14071 mail should be moved to.
14073 @item :authentication
14074 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14075 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14080 @vindex pop3-movemail
14081 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14082 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14083 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14084 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14085 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14086 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14087 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14088 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14089 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14091 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14092 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14093 name, and default fetcher:
14099 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14102 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14103 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14106 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14109 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14113 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14114 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14115 contains exactly one mail.
14121 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14122 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14125 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14126 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14128 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14129 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14130 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14133 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14134 from locking problems).
14138 Two example maildir mail sources:
14141 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14142 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14146 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14151 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14152 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14153 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14154 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14155 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
14157 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
14158 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
14164 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14165 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14168 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14169 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14172 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14176 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14180 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14181 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14182 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14183 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14185 @item :authentication
14186 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14187 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14188 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14189 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14192 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14193 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14194 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14200 The valid format specifier characters are:
14204 The name of the server.
14207 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14210 The port number of the server.
14213 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14214 corresponding keywords.
14217 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14218 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
14221 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14222 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14223 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14224 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14225 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14226 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14229 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14230 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14231 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14232 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14235 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14236 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14240 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14243 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14245 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14249 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
14250 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
14251 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
14253 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
14254 required for url "4.0pre.46".
14256 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
14262 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
14263 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
14266 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
14270 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
14274 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
14275 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
14279 An example webmail source:
14282 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
14284 :password "secret")
14289 @item Common Keywords
14290 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14296 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14297 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14302 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14307 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14308 useful when you use local mail and news.
14313 @subsubsection Function Interface
14315 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14316 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14317 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14318 consider the following mail-source setting:
14321 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14322 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14325 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14326 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14327 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14328 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14329 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14331 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14334 @node Mail Source Customization
14335 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14337 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14338 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14342 @item mail-source-crash-box
14343 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14344 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14345 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14347 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14348 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14349 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14350 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14351 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14352 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
14353 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
14354 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
14356 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14357 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14358 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
14359 files. This variable only applies when
14360 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
14362 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
14363 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
14364 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
14366 @item mail-source-directory
14367 @vindex mail-source-directory
14368 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
14369 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
14370 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
14371 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
14373 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14374 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14375 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
14376 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
14377 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
14378 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
14381 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
14382 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
14383 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
14385 @item mail-source-movemail-program
14386 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
14387 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
14388 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
14393 @node Fetching Mail
14394 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
14396 @vindex mail-sources
14397 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
14398 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
14399 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
14400 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
14402 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
14403 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
14406 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
14407 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
14412 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14413 :password "secret")))
14416 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
14420 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
14421 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14424 :password "secret")))
14428 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
14429 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
14430 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
14431 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
14432 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
14433 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
14437 @node Mail Back End Variables
14438 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
14440 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
14444 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14445 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14446 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
14447 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
14449 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
14450 @item nnmail-split-hook
14451 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14452 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14453 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14454 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14455 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14456 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14457 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14458 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14459 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14462 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14463 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14464 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14465 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14466 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14467 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14468 starting to handle the new mail) and
14469 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14470 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14471 default file modes the new mail files get:
14474 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14475 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14477 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14478 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14481 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14482 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14483 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14484 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14485 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14486 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14487 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14489 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14490 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14491 @findex delete-file
14492 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14494 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14495 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14496 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14497 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14498 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14500 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14501 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14502 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14503 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14504 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14506 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14507 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14508 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14513 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14514 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14515 @cindex mail splitting
14516 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14518 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14519 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14520 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14521 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14522 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14523 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14525 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14528 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14529 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14530 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14531 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14533 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14534 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14535 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14536 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14537 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14538 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14539 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14540 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14541 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14542 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14543 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14544 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14545 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14546 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14547 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14548 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14549 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14553 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14554 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14555 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14560 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14561 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14563 @c Don't fold this line.
14564 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
14565 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
14566 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
14567 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
14570 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
14571 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
14572 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
14573 @var{split} is processed.
14575 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
14576 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
14577 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
14578 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14580 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14581 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14582 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14583 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14584 stored in one or more groups.
14586 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14587 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14588 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14591 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14592 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14594 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14595 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14596 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14597 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14600 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14601 body of the messages:
14604 (defun split-on-body ()
14608 (goto-char (point-min))
14609 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14613 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14614 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14615 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14616 above. Also note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will
14617 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14618 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14619 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14621 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14622 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14623 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14624 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14625 should return a split.
14628 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14632 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14634 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
14635 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
14636 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
14637 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
14641 (any "joe" "joemail")
14645 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
14646 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
14647 of the following three ways:
14651 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14652 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
14653 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
14654 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
14655 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
14658 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
14661 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
14662 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
14663 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
14664 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
14665 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
14668 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
14669 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
14670 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
14671 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14672 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
14673 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14674 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14677 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14678 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14679 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14680 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14681 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14682 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14683 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14687 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14689 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14690 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14692 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14695 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14696 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14697 when all this splitting is performed.
14699 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14700 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14701 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14704 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14707 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14708 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14710 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14711 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14712 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14713 groupings 1 through 9.
14715 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14716 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14717 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14718 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14719 groups when users send to an address using different case
14720 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14723 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14724 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14725 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14726 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14727 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14728 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14729 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14730 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14731 it once per thread.
14733 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14734 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14735 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14736 using the colon feature, like so:
14738 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14739 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14741 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14742 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14746 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14747 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14748 in the file specified by the variable
14749 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14750 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14751 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14752 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14753 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14754 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14755 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14756 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14757 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14758 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14759 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14760 300 kBytes in size.)
14761 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14762 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14763 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14764 messages goes into the new group.
14766 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14767 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14768 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14769 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14770 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14771 ``outgoing'' group.
14774 @node Group Mail Splitting
14775 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14776 @cindex mail splitting
14777 @cindex group mail splitting
14779 @findex gnus-group-split
14780 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14781 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14782 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14783 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14784 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14785 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14786 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14787 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14789 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14790 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14791 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14792 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14794 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14795 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14796 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14797 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14798 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14799 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14800 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14802 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14803 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14804 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14805 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14806 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14807 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14808 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14810 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14811 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14812 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14813 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14814 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14815 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14816 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14817 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14818 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14819 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14820 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14821 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14822 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14824 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14829 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14830 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14832 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14833 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14834 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14835 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14837 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14840 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14841 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14842 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14845 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14846 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14847 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14851 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14852 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14853 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14857 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14860 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14861 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14862 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14863 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14864 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14865 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14866 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14867 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14868 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14870 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14871 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14872 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14873 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14874 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14875 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14876 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14877 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14878 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14880 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14881 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14882 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14883 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14884 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14885 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14888 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14891 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14892 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14893 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14894 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14895 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14898 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14899 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14900 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14901 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14903 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14904 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14905 @cindex incorporating old mail
14906 @cindex import old mail
14908 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14909 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14910 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14913 Doing so can be quite easy.
14915 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14916 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14917 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14918 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14919 your @code{nnml} groups.
14925 Go to the group buffer.
14928 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14929 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14932 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14935 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14936 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14939 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14940 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14943 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14944 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14945 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14946 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14947 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14949 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14950 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14951 using the new mail back end.
14954 @node Expiring Mail
14955 @subsection Expiring Mail
14956 @cindex article expiry
14957 @cindex expiring mail
14959 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14960 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14961 different approach to mail reading.
14963 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14964 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14965 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14966 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14967 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14968 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14971 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14972 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14973 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14974 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14975 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14976 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14977 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14978 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14979 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14981 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14982 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14983 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14984 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14985 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14986 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14987 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14990 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14991 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14992 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14993 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14994 into its own group.)
14996 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14997 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14998 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14999 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15000 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15001 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15002 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15003 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15006 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15007 Groups that match the regular expression
15008 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15009 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15010 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15012 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15013 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15014 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15015 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15016 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15018 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15020 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15021 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15022 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15025 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15026 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15027 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15028 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15029 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15031 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15032 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15035 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15036 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15039 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15040 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15042 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15043 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15044 don't really mix very well.
15046 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15047 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15048 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15049 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15052 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15053 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15054 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15055 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15058 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15060 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15062 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15064 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15066 ((string= group "important")
15072 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15073 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15075 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15076 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15077 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15080 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15081 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15083 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15084 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15085 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15086 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15087 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15088 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15089 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15090 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15091 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15092 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15093 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15094 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15095 name or @code{delete}.
15097 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15099 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15102 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15103 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15104 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15105 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15106 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15109 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15110 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15111 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15112 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15113 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15116 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15117 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15118 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15119 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15120 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15121 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15123 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15124 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15125 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15126 easier for procmail users.
15128 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15129 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15130 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15131 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15132 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15133 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15134 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15135 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15136 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15137 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15138 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15139 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15140 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15143 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15145 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15146 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15147 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15148 auto-expire turned on.
15152 @subsection Washing Mail
15153 @cindex mail washing
15154 @cindex list server brain damage
15155 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15157 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15158 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15159 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15160 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15161 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15162 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15164 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15165 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15166 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15169 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15170 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15171 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15172 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15175 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15176 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15177 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15178 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15179 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15182 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15183 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15184 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15185 Emacs running on MS machines.
15189 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15190 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15191 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15192 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15195 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15196 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15197 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15198 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15200 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15201 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15202 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15203 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15204 into a feature by documenting it.)
15206 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15207 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15208 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15209 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15210 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15211 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15212 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15215 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15216 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15219 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15220 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15223 This can also be done non-destructively with
15224 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15226 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15227 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15228 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15230 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15231 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15232 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15235 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15236 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15237 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15238 contain a line matching the regular expression
15239 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15243 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15244 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15245 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15249 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15250 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15251 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15258 @subsection Duplicates
15260 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15261 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15262 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15263 @cindex duplicate mails
15264 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15265 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15266 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15267 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15268 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15269 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15270 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15271 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15272 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15273 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15274 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15275 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15276 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15278 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15279 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15280 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15281 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15283 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15286 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15287 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15291 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15292 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15293 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15294 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15295 (any mail "mail.misc")
15296 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15302 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15303 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15304 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15308 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15309 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15310 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15311 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15312 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15315 @node Not Reading Mail
15316 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15318 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15319 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15320 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15322 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15323 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15324 mail, which should help.
15326 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15327 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15328 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15329 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15330 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15331 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
15332 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
15333 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
15334 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
15335 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
15336 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
15338 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
15339 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
15343 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
15344 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
15346 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
15347 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
15348 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
15350 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
15351 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
15352 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
15356 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
15357 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
15358 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
15359 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
15360 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
15361 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
15362 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
15366 @node Unix Mail Box
15367 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
15369 @cindex unix mail box
15371 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15372 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15373 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
15374 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
15375 which group it belongs in.
15377 Virtual server settings:
15380 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
15381 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15382 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
15385 @item nnmbox-active-file
15386 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15387 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
15388 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
15390 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
15391 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15392 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
15393 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
15398 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
15402 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15403 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15404 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
15405 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
15406 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
15408 Virtual server settings:
15411 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
15412 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15413 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
15415 @item nnbabyl-active-file
15416 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15417 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
15418 @file{~/.rmail-active}
15420 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15421 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15422 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
15428 @subsubsection Mail Spool
15430 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
15432 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
15433 format. It should be used with some caution.
15435 @vindex nnml-directory
15436 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
15437 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
15438 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
15439 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
15441 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
15444 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
15445 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
15446 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
15447 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
15448 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
15449 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
15450 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
15451 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
15453 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
15454 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
15455 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
15456 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
15458 @cindex self contained nnml servers
15460 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
15461 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15462 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15463 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
15464 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
15465 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
15466 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
15467 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
15470 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
15471 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
15472 them next time it starts.
15474 Virtual server settings:
15477 @item nnml-directory
15478 @vindex nnml-directory
15479 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
15480 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
15483 @item nnml-active-file
15484 @vindex nnml-active-file
15485 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15486 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15488 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15489 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15490 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15491 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15493 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15494 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15495 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15498 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15499 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15500 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15501 default is @code{nil}.
15503 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15504 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15505 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15507 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15508 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15509 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15511 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15512 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15513 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15514 default is @code{nil}.
15516 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15517 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15518 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15520 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15521 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15522 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15523 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
15524 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
15525 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
15526 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
15527 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
15528 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
15530 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15531 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15532 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
15533 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
15534 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
15538 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15539 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15540 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15541 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15542 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15543 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15544 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15549 @subsubsection MH Spool
15551 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15553 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15554 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15555 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15556 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15559 Virtual server settings:
15562 @item nnmh-directory
15563 @vindex nnmh-directory
15564 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15565 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15568 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15569 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15570 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15574 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15575 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15576 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15577 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15578 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15579 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15580 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15585 @subsubsection Maildir
15589 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15590 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15591 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15592 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15593 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15596 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15597 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15598 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15599 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15600 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15601 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15602 that appear as group in Gnus.
15604 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15605 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15606 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15608 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15609 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15610 another, and you will keep your marks.
15612 Virtual server settings:
15616 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15617 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15618 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15619 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15620 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15621 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15622 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15623 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15624 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15625 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15627 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15628 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15629 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15630 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15631 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15632 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15633 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15634 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15635 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15636 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15639 @item target-prefix
15640 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15641 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15642 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15645 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15646 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15647 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15648 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15649 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15650 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15651 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15652 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15653 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15655 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15656 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15657 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15658 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15659 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15661 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15662 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15663 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15664 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15665 @code{force} argument.
15667 @item directory-files
15668 This should be a function with the same interface as
15669 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15670 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15671 parameter is optional; the default is
15672 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15673 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15674 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15675 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15676 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15677 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15680 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15681 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15682 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15683 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15684 value is @code{nil}.
15686 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15687 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15688 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15689 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15690 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15693 @subsubsection Group parameters
15695 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15696 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15697 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15698 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15699 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15700 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15703 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15704 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15705 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15706 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15707 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15708 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15709 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15710 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15711 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15715 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15716 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15717 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15718 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15719 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
15720 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
15721 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
15722 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15723 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15724 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15725 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15726 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15727 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15730 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15732 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15734 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15735 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15736 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15737 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15738 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15739 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15740 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15741 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15742 article. So that form can refer to
15743 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15744 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
15745 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15746 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15749 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15750 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15751 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15752 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15753 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15754 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15755 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15756 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15757 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15758 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15759 contain extra copies of the articles.
15761 @item directory-files
15762 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15763 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15764 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15765 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15767 @item distrust-Lines:
15768 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15769 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15770 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15773 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15774 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15775 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15776 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15777 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15778 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15781 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15782 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15783 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15784 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15785 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15786 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15787 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15789 @item nov-cache-size
15790 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15791 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15792 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15793 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15794 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15795 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15796 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15797 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15798 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15799 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15800 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15803 @subsubsection Article identification
15804 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15805 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15806 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15807 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15808 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15809 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15810 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15811 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15812 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15813 request the article in the summary buffer.
15815 @subsubsection NOV data
15816 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15817 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15818 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15819 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15820 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15821 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15822 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15823 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15824 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15825 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15826 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15828 @subsubsection Article marks
15829 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15830 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15831 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15832 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15833 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15834 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15835 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15836 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15838 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15839 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15840 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15841 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15842 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15843 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15844 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15845 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15846 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15850 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15852 @cindex mbox folders
15853 @cindex mail folders
15855 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15856 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15857 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15858 numbers and arrival dates.
15860 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15862 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15863 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15864 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15865 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15866 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15867 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15868 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15869 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15870 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15871 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15873 Virtual server settings:
15876 @item nnfolder-directory
15877 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15878 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15879 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15880 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15882 @item nnfolder-active-file
15883 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15884 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15886 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15887 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15888 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15889 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15891 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15892 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15893 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15894 default is @code{t}
15896 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15897 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15898 @cindex backup files
15899 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15900 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15901 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15902 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15905 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15906 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15908 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15911 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15912 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15913 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15914 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15915 extract some information from it before removing it.
15917 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15918 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15919 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15920 default is @code{nil}.
15922 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15923 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15924 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15926 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15927 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15928 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15929 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15931 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15932 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15933 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15934 default is @code{nil}.
15936 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15937 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15938 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15940 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15941 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15942 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15943 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15948 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15949 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15950 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15951 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15952 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15953 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15956 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15957 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15959 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15960 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15961 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15962 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15963 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15965 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15966 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15967 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15968 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15969 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15970 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15971 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15972 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15975 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15976 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15977 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15978 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15983 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15984 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15985 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15986 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15987 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15988 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15989 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15990 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15991 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15992 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15993 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15994 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15995 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16000 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16001 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16002 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16003 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16004 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16005 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16006 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16007 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16008 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16009 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16010 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16011 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16012 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16013 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
16015 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16016 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16021 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16022 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16023 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16024 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16025 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16026 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16027 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16028 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16029 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16030 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16031 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16032 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16033 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16034 provided by the active file and overviews.
16036 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16037 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16038 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16039 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16040 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16043 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16044 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16049 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16050 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16051 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16052 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16053 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16054 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16055 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16059 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16060 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16061 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16062 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16063 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16064 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16065 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16066 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16067 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16069 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16070 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16071 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16072 friendly mail back end all over.
16076 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16077 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16080 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16081 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16082 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16083 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16084 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
16085 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
16086 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
16087 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
16090 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16091 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16092 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16093 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16094 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16095 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16096 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16097 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16098 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16099 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16100 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16102 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16103 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16104 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16105 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16106 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16109 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16110 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16111 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16112 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16113 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16114 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16115 removed in the future.
16117 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16118 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16119 on your file system.
16121 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16122 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16127 @node Browsing the Web
16128 @section Browsing the Web
16130 @cindex browsing the web
16134 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16135 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16136 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16137 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16138 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16139 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16140 even know what a news group is.
16142 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16143 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16144 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16145 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16146 you mad in the end.
16148 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16151 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16152 interfaces to these sources.
16156 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16157 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
16158 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
16159 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
16160 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16161 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16164 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16165 alternatives to work.
16167 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16168 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16169 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16170 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16171 though, you should be ok.
16173 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16174 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16175 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16176 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16177 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16179 @node Archiving Mail
16180 @subsection Archiving Mail
16181 @cindex archiving mail
16182 @cindex backup of mail
16184 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16185 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16186 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16187 marks is fairly simple.
16189 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16190 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16193 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16194 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16195 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16196 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16197 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16198 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16199 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16200 before you restore the data.
16202 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16203 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16204 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16205 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16206 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16207 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16208 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16209 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16210 is unnecessary in that case.
16213 @subsection Web Searches
16218 @cindex Usenet searches
16219 @cindex searching the Usenet
16221 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16222 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16223 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16224 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16225 searches without having to use a browser.
16227 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16228 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16229 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16230 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16231 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16233 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16234 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16235 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16236 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16237 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16238 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16239 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16240 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16241 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16242 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16245 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16246 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16247 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16248 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16249 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16250 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16252 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16253 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16254 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16256 Virtual server variables:
16261 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16262 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16263 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16266 @vindex nnweb-search
16267 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16269 @item nnweb-max-hits
16270 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16271 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16274 @item nnweb-type-definition
16275 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16276 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16277 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16282 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16286 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16289 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16292 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16296 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16303 @subsection Slashdot
16307 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
16308 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
16309 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
16311 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
16312 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16315 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16316 '((nnslashdot "")))
16319 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
16320 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
16321 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
16322 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
16323 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
16326 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
16327 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16329 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
16330 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
16331 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
16332 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
16333 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
16334 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
16335 @acronym{HTML} forms.
16337 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
16340 @item nnslashdot-threaded
16341 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
16342 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
16343 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
16344 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
16345 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
16346 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
16348 @item nnslashdot-login-name
16349 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
16350 The login name to use when posting.
16352 @item nnslashdot-password
16353 @vindex nnslashdot-password
16354 The password to use when posting.
16356 @item nnslashdot-directory
16357 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
16358 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
16359 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
16361 @item nnslashdot-active-url
16362 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
16363 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
16364 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
16365 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
16367 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
16368 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
16369 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
16371 @item nnslashdot-article-url
16372 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
16373 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
16374 article. The default is
16375 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
16377 @item nnslashdot-threshold
16378 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
16379 The score threshold. The default is -1.
16381 @item nnslashdot-group-number
16382 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
16383 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
16384 updated. The default is 0.
16391 @subsection Ultimate
16393 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
16395 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
16396 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
16397 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
16398 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16400 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
16401 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
16402 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
16403 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
16404 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
16405 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
16406 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
16408 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
16411 @item nnultimate-directory
16412 @vindex nnultimate-directory
16413 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
16414 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
16419 @subsection Web Archive
16421 @cindex Web Archive
16423 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
16424 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
16425 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
16426 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
16429 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
16430 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
16431 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
16432 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
16433 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
16434 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
16435 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
16436 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
16438 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
16441 @item nnwarchive-directory
16442 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
16443 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
16444 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
16446 @item nnwarchive-login
16447 @vindex nnwarchive-login
16448 The account name on the web server.
16450 @item nnwarchive-passwd
16451 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
16452 The password for your account on the web server.
16460 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16461 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16462 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16463 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16464 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16466 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16467 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16469 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16470 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16471 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16474 @kindex G R (Group)
16475 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16476 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16477 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16478 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16480 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16481 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16482 subscribe to groups.
16484 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16485 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16486 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16487 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16488 variable. If it is @code{nil}, in Emacs the coding system defaults to
16489 the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system}. If you are using
16490 XEmacs and want to use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names, you should set
16491 the value for the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} variable properly.
16493 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
16494 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
16495 and a @samp{text/html} part.
16498 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
16499 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
16502 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
16503 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
16507 @defun nnrss-opml-export
16508 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
16509 @acronym{OPML} format.
16512 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
16515 @item nnrss-directory
16516 @vindex nnrss-directory
16517 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
16518 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16520 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
16521 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
16522 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
16523 data files. The default is the value of
16524 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
16525 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
16527 @item nnrss-use-local
16528 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16529 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16530 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16531 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16532 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16533 download script using @command{wget}.
16535 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
16536 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
16537 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
16538 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
16539 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
16540 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
16541 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
16542 @samp{text/html} parts.
16545 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16546 the summary buffer.
16549 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16550 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16552 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16554 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16555 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16558 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16562 (require 'browse-url)
16564 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16566 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16569 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16570 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16573 (browse-url (cdr url))
16574 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16575 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16577 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16578 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16579 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16580 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16583 Even if you have added @code{"text/html"} to the
16584 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
16585 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
16586 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
16587 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
16588 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
16589 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
16590 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
16591 @code{nnrss} groups:
16594 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
16595 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
16597 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
16598 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
16599 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
16601 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
16604 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
16608 @node Customizing W3
16609 @subsection Customizing W3
16615 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
16616 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
16617 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
16620 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
16621 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16622 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16625 (eval-after-load "w3"
16627 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16628 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16629 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16630 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16632 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16635 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
16636 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16643 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16645 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16646 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16647 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16648 specify the network address of the server.
16650 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16651 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16652 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16653 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16654 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16655 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16657 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16658 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16659 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16660 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16662 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16663 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16664 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16665 usage explained in this section.
16667 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16668 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16669 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16673 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16674 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16675 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16677 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16678 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16679 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16681 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16682 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16683 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16684 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16685 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16686 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16687 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16688 (nnimap-stream network))
16689 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16691 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16692 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16693 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16696 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16697 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16698 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16699 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16701 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16706 @item nnimap-address
16707 @vindex nnimap-address
16709 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16710 server name if not specified.
16712 @item nnimap-server-port
16713 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16714 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16716 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16719 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16720 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16723 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16724 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16725 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16726 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16727 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16728 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16729 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16731 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16732 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16733 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16736 Example server specification:
16739 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16740 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16741 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16744 @item nnimap-stream
16745 @vindex nnimap-stream
16746 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16747 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16748 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16749 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16750 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16752 Example server specification:
16755 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16756 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16759 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16763 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16764 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16766 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16768 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16769 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16772 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16773 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16775 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16776 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16778 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16780 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16783 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16784 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16785 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16786 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16787 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16788 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16789 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16790 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16791 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16794 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16795 needed. It is available from
16796 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16798 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16799 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16800 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16801 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16802 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16803 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16804 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16807 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16808 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16809 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16810 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16811 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16812 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16813 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16816 @vindex imap-shell-program
16817 @vindex imap-shell-host
16818 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16819 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16821 @item nnimap-authenticator
16822 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16824 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16825 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16827 Example server specification:
16830 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16831 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16834 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16838 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16839 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16841 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16844 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16845 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16847 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16849 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16851 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16854 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16856 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16857 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16858 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16859 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16860 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16861 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16864 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16865 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16866 running in circles yet?
16868 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16869 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16872 The possible options are:
16877 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16880 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16881 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16882 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16883 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16885 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16890 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16891 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16893 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16894 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16895 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16896 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16897 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16900 Probably the only reason for frobbing this would be if you're trying
16901 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16904 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16905 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16906 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16907 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16910 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16911 as ticked for other users.
16913 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16915 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16916 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
16918 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16919 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16920 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16921 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16923 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16924 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16925 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16926 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16928 However, if @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}
16929 is true, this variable has no effect since the search logic
16930 is reversed, as described below.
16932 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16933 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16935 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16936 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16937 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16938 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
16941 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
16944 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
16945 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
16946 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
16947 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
16950 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16951 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16953 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16954 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16957 @item nnimap-nov-is-evil
16958 @vindex nnimap-nov-is-evil
16959 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
16960 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
16962 Never generate or use a local @acronym{NOV} database. Defaults to the
16963 value of @code{gnus-agent}.
16965 Using a @acronym{NOV} database usually makes header fetching much
16966 faster, but it uses the @code{UID SEARCH UID} command, which is very
16967 slow on some servers (notably some versions of Courier). Since the Gnus
16968 Agent caches the information in the @acronym{NOV} database without using
16969 the slow command, this variable defaults to true if the Agent is in use,
16970 and false otherwise.
16972 @item nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
16973 @vindex nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
16974 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
16975 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
16977 Avoid the @code{UID SEARCH UID @var{message numbers} NOT SINCE
16978 @var{date}} command, which is slow on some @acronym{IMAP} servers
16979 (notably, some versions of Courier). Instead, use @code{UID SEARCH SINCE
16980 @var{date}} and prune the list of expirable articles within Gnus.
16982 When Gnus expires your mail (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), it starts with a
16983 list of expirable articles and asks the IMAP server questions like ``Of
16984 these articles, which ones are older than a week?'' While this seems
16985 like a perfectly reasonable question, some IMAP servers take a long time
16986 to answer it, since they seemingly go looking into every old article to
16987 see if it is one of the expirable ones. Curiously, the question ``Of
16988 @emph{all} articles, which ones are newer than a week?'' seems to be
16989 much faster to answer, so setting this variable causes Gnus to ask this
16990 question and figure out the answer to the real question itself.
16992 This problem can really sneak up on you: when you first configure Gnus,
16993 everything works fine, but once you accumulate a couple thousand
16994 messages, you start cursing Gnus for being so slow. On the other hand,
16995 if you get a lot of email within a week, setting this variable will
16996 cause a lot of network traffic between Gnus and the IMAP server.
17001 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
17002 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
17003 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
17004 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
17005 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
17006 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
17011 @node Splitting in IMAP
17012 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
17013 @cindex splitting imap mail
17015 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
17016 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
17017 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
17018 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
17019 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
17023 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
17024 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
17025 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
17027 Here are the variables of interest:
17031 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
17032 @cindex splitting, crosspost
17034 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
17036 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
17037 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
17038 found will be used.
17040 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
17042 @item nnimap-split-inbox
17043 @cindex splitting, inbox
17045 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
17047 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
17048 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
17049 splitting is disabled!
17052 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
17053 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
17056 No nnmail equivalent.
17058 @item nnimap-split-rule
17059 @cindex splitting, rules
17060 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
17062 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
17065 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
17066 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
17067 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
17068 Neither did I, we need examples.
17071 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17073 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
17074 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
17075 ("INBOX.private" "")))
17078 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
17079 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
17080 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
17082 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
17083 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
17087 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
17090 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
17091 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
17093 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
17094 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
17095 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
17096 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
17098 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
17099 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
17100 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
17101 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
17102 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
17103 them every time you fetch new mail.)
17105 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
17106 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
17107 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
17109 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
17110 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
17111 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17113 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
17115 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
17116 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
17117 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
17120 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17121 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
17122 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
17123 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
17124 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
17125 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
17128 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
17129 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
17130 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
17131 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
17132 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
17133 group/function elements.
17135 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17137 @item nnimap-split-predicate
17139 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
17141 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
17142 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
17144 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
17145 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
17146 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
17149 @item nnimap-split-fancy
17150 @cindex splitting, fancy
17151 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
17152 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
17154 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17155 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
17156 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
17158 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
17159 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17160 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
17161 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17166 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
17167 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
17170 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
17172 @item nnimap-split-download-body
17173 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
17174 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
17176 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
17177 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
17178 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
17179 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
17183 @node Expiring in IMAP
17184 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
17185 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
17187 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
17188 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
17189 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
17190 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
17191 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
17192 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
17195 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
17196 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
17197 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
17198 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
17199 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
17200 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
17201 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
17202 messages. Most do, fortunately.
17204 If expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail seems very slow, try setting the server
17205 variable @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}.
17209 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
17210 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
17212 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
17213 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
17215 @item nnmail-expiry-target
17217 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
17218 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
17219 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
17220 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
17224 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
17225 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
17226 @cindex editing imap acls
17227 @cindex Access Control Lists
17228 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
17229 @kindex G l (Group)
17230 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
17232 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
17233 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
17234 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
17237 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
17238 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
17239 editing window with detailed instructions.
17241 Some possible uses:
17245 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
17246 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
17247 follow the list without subscribing to it.
17249 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
17250 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
17251 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
17255 @node Expunging mailboxes
17256 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
17260 @cindex manual expunging
17261 @kindex G x (Group)
17262 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
17264 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
17265 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
17266 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
17268 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
17271 @node A note on namespaces
17272 @subsection A note on namespaces
17273 @cindex IMAP namespace
17276 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
17277 by the following text in the RFC2060:
17280 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
17282 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
17283 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
17284 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
17285 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
17287 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
17288 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
17289 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
17290 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
17291 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
17292 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
17295 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
17296 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
17297 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
17299 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
17300 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
17301 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
17302 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
17303 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
17304 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
17305 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
17306 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
17309 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
17310 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
17311 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
17313 @node Debugging IMAP
17314 @subsection Debugging IMAP
17315 @cindex IMAP debugging
17316 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
17318 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
17319 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
17320 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
17321 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
17323 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
17324 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
17325 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
17326 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
17327 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
17328 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
17329 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
17333 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
17334 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
17341 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
17342 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
17343 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
17344 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
17347 @node Other Sources
17348 @section Other Sources
17350 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17351 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17355 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17356 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17357 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17358 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
17359 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17363 @node Directory Groups
17364 @subsection Directory Groups
17366 @cindex directory groups
17368 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17369 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17372 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17373 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17374 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17375 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17377 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17378 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17379 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17380 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17381 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17383 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17385 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17386 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17387 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17388 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17391 @node Anything Groups
17392 @subsection Anything Groups
17395 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17396 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17397 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17400 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17401 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17402 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17403 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17404 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17405 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17406 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17407 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17408 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17409 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17412 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17413 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17414 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17415 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17417 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17418 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17419 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17420 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17422 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17423 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17424 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17425 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17426 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17427 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17428 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17429 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17434 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17435 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17436 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17437 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17439 @item nneething-exclude-files
17440 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17441 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17442 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17444 @item nneething-include-files
17445 @vindex nneething-include-files
17446 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17447 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17449 @item nneething-map-file
17450 @vindex nneething-map-file
17451 Name of the map files.
17455 @node Document Groups
17456 @subsection Document Groups
17458 @cindex documentation group
17461 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17462 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17468 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
17473 The standard Unix mbox file.
17475 @cindex MMDF mail box
17477 The MMDF mail box format.
17480 Several news articles appended into a file.
17482 @cindex rnews batch files
17484 The rnews batch transport format.
17487 Netscape mail boxes.
17490 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17492 @item standard-digest
17493 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17496 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17498 @item lanl-gov-announce
17499 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17501 @cindex forwarded messages
17502 @item rfc822-forward
17503 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17506 The Outlook mail box.
17509 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17512 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17515 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17518 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17524 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17527 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17533 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17534 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17535 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17538 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17539 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17540 group. And that's it.
17542 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17543 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17544 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17545 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17546 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17547 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17548 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17549 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17550 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17551 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17553 Virtual server variables:
17556 @item nndoc-article-type
17557 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17558 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17559 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17560 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17561 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17562 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17564 @item nndoc-post-type
17565 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17566 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17567 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17572 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17576 @node Document Server Internals
17577 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17579 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17580 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17581 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17582 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17584 First, here's an example document type definition:
17588 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17589 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17592 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17593 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17594 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17595 types can be defined with very few settings:
17598 @item first-article
17599 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17600 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17603 @item article-begin
17604 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17605 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17606 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17607 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17609 @item article-begin-function
17610 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17611 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17614 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17615 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17616 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17618 @item head-begin-function
17619 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17620 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17623 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17624 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17627 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17628 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17629 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17631 @item body-begin-function
17632 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17633 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17636 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17637 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17638 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17640 @item body-end-function
17641 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17642 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17645 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17646 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17649 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17650 regexp will be totally ignored.
17654 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17655 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17656 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17657 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17658 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17661 @item prepare-body-function
17662 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17663 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17664 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17666 @item article-transform-function
17667 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17668 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17669 body of the article.
17671 @item generate-head-function
17672 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17673 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17674 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17675 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17677 @item generate-article-function
17678 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17679 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17680 parameter when requesting all articles.
17682 @item dissection-function
17683 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17684 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17685 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17686 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17687 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17688 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17692 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17697 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17698 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17699 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17700 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17701 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17702 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17703 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17704 (subtype digest guess))
17707 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17708 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17709 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17710 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17711 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17713 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17714 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17715 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17716 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17717 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17718 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17719 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17720 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17721 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17722 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17723 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17724 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17732 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17733 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17734 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17736 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17737 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17738 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17741 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17742 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17743 that interested in doing things properly.
17745 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17746 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17749 First some terminology:
17754 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17755 get news and/or mail from.
17758 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17759 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17762 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17766 @item message packets
17767 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17768 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17769 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17771 @item response packets
17772 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17773 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17774 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17784 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17785 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17786 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17787 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17790 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17793 You put the packet in your home directory.
17796 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17797 the native or secondary server.
17800 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17801 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17804 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17808 You transfer this packet to the server.
17811 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17814 You then repeat until you die.
17818 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17819 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17822 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17823 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17824 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17828 @node SOUP Commands
17829 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17831 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17835 @kindex G s b (Group)
17836 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17837 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17838 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17839 process/prefix convention.
17842 @kindex G s w (Group)
17843 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17844 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17847 @kindex G s s (Group)
17848 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17849 Send all replies from the replies packet
17850 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17853 @kindex G s p (Group)
17854 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17855 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17858 @kindex G s r (Group)
17859 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17860 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17863 @kindex O s (Summary)
17864 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17865 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17866 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17867 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17872 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17877 @item gnus-soup-directory
17878 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17879 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17880 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17882 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17883 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17884 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17885 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17887 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17888 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17889 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17890 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17892 @item gnus-soup-packer
17893 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17894 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17895 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17897 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17898 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17899 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17900 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17902 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17903 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17904 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17906 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17907 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17908 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17909 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17915 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17918 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17919 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17920 you can read them at leisure.
17922 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17926 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17927 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17928 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17929 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17931 @item nnsoup-directory
17932 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17933 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17934 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17936 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17937 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17938 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17939 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17941 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17942 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17943 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17944 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17945 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17947 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17948 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17949 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17950 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17952 @item nnsoup-active-file
17953 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17954 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17955 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17956 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17957 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17959 @item nnsoup-packer
17960 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17961 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17962 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17964 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17965 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17966 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17967 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17969 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17970 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17971 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17974 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17975 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17976 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17979 @item nnsoup-always-save
17980 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17981 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17987 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17989 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17990 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17991 more for that to happen.
17993 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17994 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17995 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17998 In specific, this is what it does:
18001 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
18002 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
18005 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
18006 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
18007 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
18010 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
18011 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
18012 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
18015 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
18016 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
18017 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
18019 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
18025 @item nngateway-address
18026 @vindex nngateway-address
18027 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
18029 @item nngateway-header-transformation
18030 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
18031 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
18032 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
18033 transformation should be called, and defaults to
18034 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
18035 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
18038 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
18039 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
18040 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
18043 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
18046 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
18049 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
18052 The following pre-defined functions exist:
18054 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18057 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18058 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18059 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
18061 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18063 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18064 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18065 @code{nngateway-address}.
18073 (setq gnus-post-method
18075 "mail2news@@replay.com"
18076 (nngateway-header-transformation
18077 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
18080 So, to use this, simply say something like:
18083 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
18088 @node Combined Groups
18089 @section Combined Groups
18091 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
18095 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
18096 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
18100 @node Virtual Groups
18101 @subsection Virtual Groups
18103 @cindex virtual groups
18104 @cindex merging groups
18106 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
18109 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
18110 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
18111 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
18113 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
18114 regexp to match component groups.
18116 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
18117 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
18118 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
18119 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
18120 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
18121 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
18122 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
18123 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
18125 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
18126 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
18129 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
18132 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
18133 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
18135 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
18136 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
18137 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
18138 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
18141 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
18144 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
18145 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
18146 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
18148 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
18149 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
18150 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
18151 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
18152 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
18154 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
18155 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
18156 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
18158 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
18159 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
18160 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
18161 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
18162 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
18163 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
18164 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
18165 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
18166 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
18167 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
18168 it---it'll have much the same effect.
18170 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
18171 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
18172 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
18173 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
18174 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
18175 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
18176 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
18178 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
18179 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
18181 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
18182 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
18186 @node Kibozed Groups
18187 @subsection Kibozed Groups
18191 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
18192 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
18193 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
18194 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
18196 @kindex G k (Group)
18197 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
18200 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
18201 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
18202 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
18203 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
18205 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
18206 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
18207 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
18209 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
18210 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
18211 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
18212 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
18213 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
18214 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
18215 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
18216 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
18218 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
18219 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
18220 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
18221 Stranger things have happened.
18223 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
18224 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
18226 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
18227 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
18228 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
18229 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
18230 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
18231 information on what groups have been searched through to find
18232 component articles.
18234 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
18235 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
18238 @node Email Based Diary
18239 @section Email Based Diary
18241 @cindex email based diary
18244 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
18245 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
18246 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
18247 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
18248 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
18249 namely, as event reminders.
18251 Here is a typical scenario:
18255 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
18256 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
18258 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
18260 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
18262 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
18263 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
18264 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
18266 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
18267 of the night you're gonna have.
18269 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
18270 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
18273 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
18274 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
18275 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
18276 explained in the sections below.
18279 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
18280 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
18281 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
18285 @node The NNDiary Back End
18286 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
18288 @cindex the nndiary back end
18290 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
18291 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
18292 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
18293 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
18294 directory per group.
18296 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
18297 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
18298 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
18299 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
18302 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
18303 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
18304 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
18307 @node Diary Messages
18308 @subsubsection Diary Messages
18309 @cindex nndiary messages
18310 @cindex nndiary mails
18312 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
18313 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
18314 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
18315 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
18316 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
18317 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
18318 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
18322 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
18323 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
18324 (separated by a comma).
18326 A field is either an integer, or a range.
18328 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
18330 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
18331 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
18332 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
18334 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
18335 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
18336 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
18338 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
18339 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
18340 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
18341 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
18342 list of available time zone values, see the variable
18343 @code{nndiary-headers}.
18346 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
18347 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
18348 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
18353 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
18356 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
18358 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
18361 @node Running NNDiary
18362 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18363 @cindex running nndiary
18364 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18366 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18367 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18368 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18369 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18370 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18371 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18373 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18374 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18375 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18376 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18377 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18378 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18379 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18382 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18387 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18388 line in your @file{gnusrc} file:
18391 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18394 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18395 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18396 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18397 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18398 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18400 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18401 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18410 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18411 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18413 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18414 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18415 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18416 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18419 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18420 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18421 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18424 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18425 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18426 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18428 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18429 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18430 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18431 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18432 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18434 @node Customizing NNDiary
18435 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18436 @cindex customizing nndiary
18437 @cindex nndiary customization
18439 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18440 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18441 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18442 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18444 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18445 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18446 appointements (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18447 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18448 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18452 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18453 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18458 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18459 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18461 @cindex the gnus diary library
18463 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18464 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18465 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18466 useful things for you.
18468 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{gnusrc} file:
18471 (require 'gnus-diary)
18474 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18475 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18476 (sorry if you used them before).
18480 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18481 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18482 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18483 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18486 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18487 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18488 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18489 @cindex diary summary line format
18491 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18492 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18493 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18494 see the event's date.
18496 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18497 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18498 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18499 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18500 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18502 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18503 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18504 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18507 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18510 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18511 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18514 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18517 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18518 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18519 with the following user options:
18521 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18522 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18523 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18524 diary groups'parameters.
18527 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18528 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18529 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18532 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18533 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18534 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18535 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18536 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18539 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18540 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18541 @cindex diary articles sorting
18542 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18543 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18544 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18545 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18547 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18548 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18549 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18550 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18551 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18553 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18554 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18555 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18556 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18559 @node Diary Headers Generation
18560 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18561 @cindex diary headers generation
18562 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18564 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18565 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18566 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18567 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18570 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18571 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18572 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c D c} in @code{message-mode}
18573 and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the process of converting
18574 a usual mail to a diary one.
18576 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18577 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18578 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18581 @node Diary Group Parameters
18582 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18583 @cindex diary group parameters
18585 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18586 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18587 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18588 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18589 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18590 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18591 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18592 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18594 @node Sending or Not Sending
18595 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18597 Well, assuming you've read of of the above, here are two final notes on
18598 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18602 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18603 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18604 appointements to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18605 sending the diary message to them as well.
18607 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18608 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18609 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18610 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18613 @node Gnus Unplugged
18614 @section Gnus Unplugged
18619 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18621 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18622 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18623 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18624 read news. Believe it or not.
18626 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18627 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18628 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18629 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18630 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18632 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18633 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18634 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18635 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18636 reading news on a machine.
18638 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18639 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18640 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18642 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18645 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18646 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18647 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18648 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18649 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18650 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18651 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18652 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18653 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18654 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18655 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18656 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18657 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18658 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18663 @subsection Agent Basics
18665 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18667 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18668 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18669 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18670 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18672 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18673 connected to the net continuously.
18675 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18676 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18678 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18679 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18680 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18681 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18682 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18684 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18685 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18686 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18687 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18688 they're kinda like plugged always).
18690 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18691 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18692 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18695 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18696 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18697 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18698 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18699 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18701 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18706 @findex gnus-unplugged
18707 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18708 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18709 already fetched while in this mode.
18712 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18713 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18714 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18715 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18716 Source Specifiers}).
18719 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18720 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18721 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18722 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18723 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18726 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18727 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18728 then you read the news offline.
18731 And then you go to step 2.
18734 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18740 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18741 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18742 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18743 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18744 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18745 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18746 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18747 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18750 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18751 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18752 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18753 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18755 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18756 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18757 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18758 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18759 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18760 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18764 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18768 @node Agent Categories
18769 @subsection Agent Categories
18771 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18772 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18773 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18774 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18775 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18776 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18777 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18779 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18780 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18781 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18782 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18783 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18785 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18786 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18787 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18788 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18789 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18792 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18793 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18794 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18795 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18796 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18797 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18801 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18802 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18803 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18807 @node Category Syntax
18808 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18810 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18811 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18812 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18815 @cindex Agent Parameters
18818 The list of groups that are in this category.
18820 @item agent-predicate
18821 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18822 are eligible for downloading; and
18825 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18826 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18827 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18829 @item agent-enable-expiration
18830 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18831 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18832 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18833 only groups that should not be expired.
18835 @item agent-days-until-old
18836 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18837 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18839 @item agent-low-score
18840 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18842 @item agent-high-score
18843 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18845 @item agent-short-article
18846 an integer that overrides the value of
18847 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18849 @item agent-long-article
18850 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18852 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18853 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18854 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18855 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18856 undownloaded faces.
18859 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18862 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18863 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18864 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18867 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18868 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18869 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18870 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18872 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18873 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18874 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18876 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18877 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18878 operators sprinkled in between.
18880 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18882 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18883 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18889 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18890 short (for some value of ``short'').
18892 Here's a more complex predicate:
18901 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18902 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18905 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18906 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18907 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18909 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18910 you want to do, you can write your own.
18912 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18913 bound to the value determined by calling
18914 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18915 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18916 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18917 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18918 predicate to individual groups.
18922 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18923 lines; default 100.
18926 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18927 lines; default 200.
18930 True iff the article has a download score less than
18931 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18934 True iff the article has a download score greater than
18935 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18938 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18939 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18940 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18949 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18950 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18951 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18954 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18955 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18956 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18957 something along the lines of the following:
18960 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18961 "Say whether an article is old."
18962 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18963 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18966 with the predicate then defined as:
18969 (not my-article-old-p)
18972 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18973 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18977 (require 'gnus-agent)
18978 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18979 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18980 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18983 and simply specify your predicate as:
18989 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18990 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18991 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18992 just don't give a damn.
18994 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18995 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18996 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18997 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18998 parameters like so:
19001 (agent-predicate . short)
19004 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
19005 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
19006 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
19008 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
19011 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
19014 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
19015 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
19016 predicate is assumed to be a list.
19019 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
19020 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
19021 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
19022 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
19023 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
19024 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
19026 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
19027 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
19028 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
19029 if it's to be specific to that group.
19031 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
19038 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
19039 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
19045 Category specification
19049 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19055 Group/Topic Parameter specification
19058 (agent-score ("from"
19059 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19064 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
19070 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
19071 keywords stated above.
19077 Category specification
19080 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
19086 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
19090 Group Parameter specification
19093 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
19096 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
19101 Use @code{normal} score files
19103 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
19104 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
19105 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
19106 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
19108 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
19109 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
19110 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
19111 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
19115 Category Specification
19122 Group Parameter specification
19125 (agent-score . file)
19130 @node Category Buffer
19131 @subsubsection Category Buffer
19133 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
19134 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
19135 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
19137 The following commands are available in this buffer:
19141 @kindex q (Category)
19142 @findex gnus-category-exit
19143 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
19146 @kindex e (Category)
19147 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
19148 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
19149 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
19152 @kindex k (Category)
19153 @findex gnus-category-kill
19154 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
19157 @kindex c (Category)
19158 @findex gnus-category-copy
19159 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
19162 @kindex a (Category)
19163 @findex gnus-category-add
19164 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
19167 @kindex p (Category)
19168 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
19169 Edit the predicate of the current category
19170 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
19173 @kindex g (Category)
19174 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
19175 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
19176 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
19179 @kindex s (Category)
19180 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
19181 Edit the download score rule of the current category
19182 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
19185 @kindex l (Category)
19186 @findex gnus-category-list
19187 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
19191 @node Category Variables
19192 @subsubsection Category Variables
19195 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
19196 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
19197 Hook run in category buffers.
19199 @item gnus-category-line-format
19200 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
19201 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
19202 Variables}). Valid elements are:
19206 The name of the category.
19209 The number of groups in the category.
19212 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
19213 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
19214 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
19216 @item gnus-agent-short-article
19217 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
19218 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
19220 @item gnus-agent-long-article
19221 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
19222 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
19224 @item gnus-agent-low-score
19225 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
19226 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
19229 @item gnus-agent-high-score
19230 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
19231 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
19234 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
19235 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19236 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
19237 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
19238 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
19239 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
19240 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
19241 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
19245 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19246 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19247 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
19248 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
19249 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
19250 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
19251 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
19256 @node Agent Commands
19257 @subsection Agent Commands
19258 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
19259 @kindex J j (Agent)
19261 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
19262 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
19263 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
19267 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
19268 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
19269 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
19275 @node Group Agent Commands
19276 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
19280 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
19281 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
19282 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
19283 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
19286 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
19287 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
19288 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
19291 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
19292 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
19293 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
19294 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
19297 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
19298 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
19299 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
19300 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
19303 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
19304 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
19305 Add the current group to an Agent category
19306 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
19307 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19310 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
19311 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
19312 Remove the current group from its category, if any
19313 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
19314 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19317 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
19318 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19319 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
19325 @node Summary Agent Commands
19326 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
19330 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
19331 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
19332 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
19335 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
19336 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
19337 Remove the downloading mark from the article
19338 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
19342 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
19343 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
19344 Toggle whether to download the article
19345 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
19349 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
19350 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
19351 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
19354 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
19355 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
19356 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
19357 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
19360 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
19361 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
19362 Download all processable articles in this group.
19363 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19366 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19367 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19368 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19369 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19374 @node Server Agent Commands
19375 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19379 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19380 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19381 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19382 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19385 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19386 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19387 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19388 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19393 @node Agent Visuals
19394 @subsection Agent Visuals
19396 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19397 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19398 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19399 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19400 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19401 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19402 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19403 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19404 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19405 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19407 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19408 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19409 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19410 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19411 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19412 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19413 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19414 articles will be available when unplugged.
19416 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19417 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19418 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19419 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19420 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19421 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19422 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19423 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19425 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19426 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19427 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19428 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19429 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19430 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19431 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19432 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19433 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19435 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19436 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19437 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19438 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19439 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19440 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19441 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19442 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19443 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19444 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19446 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19447 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19448 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19449 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19450 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19451 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19453 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19454 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19455 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19456 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19457 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19458 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19459 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19460 expiring'' articles.
19462 @node Agent as Cache
19463 @subsection Agent as Cache
19465 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19466 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19467 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19468 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19469 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19470 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19471 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19472 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19473 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19475 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19476 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19477 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19478 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19479 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19482 @subsection Agent Expiry
19484 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19485 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19486 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19487 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19488 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19489 @cindex agent expiry
19490 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19491 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
19493 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19494 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19495 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19496 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19497 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19498 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19499 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19500 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19502 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19503 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19504 synchronized with the group.
19506 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19507 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19509 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19510 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19511 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19512 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19513 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19514 be kept indefinitely.
19516 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19517 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19518 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19519 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19521 @node Agent Regeneration
19522 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19524 @cindex agent regeneration
19525 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19526 @cindex regeneration
19528 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19529 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19530 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19531 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19532 internal inconsistencies.
19534 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19535 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19536 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19537 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19538 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19539 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19541 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19542 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19543 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19544 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19545 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19546 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19548 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19549 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19550 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19551 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19552 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19553 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19556 @node Agent and flags
19557 @subsection Agent and flags
19559 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19560 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19561 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19562 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19563 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19564 to the flags in its own files.
19566 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19567 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19568 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19570 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19571 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19572 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19573 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19574 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19575 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19577 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19578 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19579 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19580 in the group buffer.
19582 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19583 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19584 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19585 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19586 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19587 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19588 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19589 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19591 @node Agent and IMAP
19592 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19594 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19595 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19596 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19597 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19599 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19600 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19605 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19608 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19612 @node Outgoing Messages
19613 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19615 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19616 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19617 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19619 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19620 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19621 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19623 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19624 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19625 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19626 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19629 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19630 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19631 ask you to confirm your action (see
19632 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19634 @node Agent Variables
19635 @subsection Agent Variables
19640 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19641 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19642 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19643 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19645 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19646 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19649 @item gnus-agent-directory
19650 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19651 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19652 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19654 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19655 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19656 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19657 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19658 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19661 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19662 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19663 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19665 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19666 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19667 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19669 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19670 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19671 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19673 @item gnus-agent-cache
19674 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19675 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19676 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19677 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19679 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19680 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19681 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19682 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19683 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19684 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19685 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19688 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19689 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19690 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19691 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19692 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19693 read. The default is @code{t}.
19695 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19696 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19697 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19698 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19699 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19700 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19701 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19703 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19704 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19705 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19706 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19707 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19708 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19709 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19710 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19711 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19712 over and over again.
19714 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19715 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19716 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19717 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19718 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19719 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19720 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19721 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19722 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19723 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19724 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19725 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19728 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19729 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19730 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19731 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19732 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19733 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19734 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19735 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19736 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19738 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19739 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19740 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19741 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19742 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19743 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19745 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19746 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19747 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19748 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19749 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19751 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19752 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19753 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19754 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19755 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19756 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19758 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19759 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19760 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19761 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19762 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19764 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19765 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19766 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19767 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19768 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19769 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19770 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19771 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19772 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19773 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19774 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19779 @node Example Setup
19780 @subsection Example Setup
19782 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19783 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19784 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19787 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19788 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19789 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19791 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19792 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19793 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19795 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19796 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19798 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19799 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19800 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19803 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19804 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19807 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19808 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19809 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19810 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19811 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19814 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19815 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19816 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19817 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19818 back all the killed groups.)
19820 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19821 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19822 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19825 @node Batching Agents
19826 @subsection Batching Agents
19827 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19829 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19830 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19831 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19833 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19834 following incantation:
19838 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19842 @node Agent Caveats
19843 @subsection Agent Caveats
19845 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19846 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19850 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19852 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19853 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19854 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19856 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19857 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19859 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19863 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19864 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19865 locally stored articles.
19872 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19873 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19874 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19877 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19878 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19879 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19880 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19881 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19883 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19884 before generating the summary buffer.
19886 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19887 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19888 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19890 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19891 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19892 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19893 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19896 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19897 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19898 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19899 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19900 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19901 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19902 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19903 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19904 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19905 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19906 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19907 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19908 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19909 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19910 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19911 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19915 @node Summary Score Commands
19916 @section Summary Score Commands
19917 @cindex score commands
19919 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19920 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19921 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19922 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19923 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19925 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19926 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19927 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19928 score file the current one.
19930 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19935 @kindex V s (Summary)
19936 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19937 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19940 @kindex V S (Summary)
19941 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19942 Display the score of the current article
19943 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19946 @kindex V t (Summary)
19947 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19948 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19949 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19950 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19951 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19952 score file and edit it.
19955 @kindex V w (Summary)
19956 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19957 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19960 @kindex V R (Summary)
19961 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19962 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19963 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19964 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19965 effect you're having.
19968 @kindex V c (Summary)
19969 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19970 Make a different score file the current
19971 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19974 @kindex V e (Summary)
19975 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19976 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19977 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19981 @kindex V f (Summary)
19982 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19983 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19984 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19987 @kindex V F (Summary)
19988 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19989 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19990 after editing score files.
19993 @kindex V C (Summary)
19994 @findex gnus-score-customize
19995 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19996 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
20000 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
20005 @kindex V m (Summary)
20006 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
20007 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
20008 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
20011 @kindex V x (Summary)
20012 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
20013 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
20014 expunge all articles below this score
20015 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
20018 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
20019 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
20022 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
20023 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
20027 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
20028 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
20030 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
20031 keys are available:
20035 Score on the author name.
20038 Score on the subject line.
20041 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
20044 Score on the @code{References} line.
20050 Score on the number of lines.
20053 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
20056 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
20057 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
20060 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
20061 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
20062 @file{ADAPT} files.)
20071 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
20077 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
20078 what headers you are scoring on.
20090 Substring matching.
20093 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
20122 Greater than number.
20127 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
20128 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
20129 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
20134 Temporary score entry.
20137 Permanent score entry.
20140 Immediately scoring.
20144 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
20145 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
20146 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
20150 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
20151 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
20152 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
20153 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
20155 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
20156 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
20157 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
20158 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
20159 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
20161 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
20162 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
20163 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
20164 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
20165 current score file.
20167 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
20168 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
20169 pretend they are keymaps or not.
20172 @node Group Score Commands
20173 @section Group Score Commands
20174 @cindex group score commands
20176 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
20181 @kindex W e (Group)
20182 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
20183 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
20184 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
20187 @kindex W f (Group)
20188 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20189 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
20190 all the time. This command will flush the cache
20191 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
20195 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
20197 @findex gnus-batch-score
20198 @cindex batch scoring
20200 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
20204 @node Score Variables
20205 @section Score Variables
20206 @cindex score variables
20210 @item gnus-use-scoring
20211 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
20212 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
20213 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
20215 @item gnus-kill-killed
20216 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
20217 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
20218 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
20219 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
20220 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
20221 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
20222 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
20224 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
20225 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
20226 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
20227 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
20228 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
20230 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
20231 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
20232 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
20233 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
20235 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20236 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20237 @cindex score cache
20238 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
20239 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
20240 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
20241 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
20242 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
20243 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
20244 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
20247 @item gnus-save-score
20248 @vindex gnus-save-score
20249 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
20250 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
20251 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20253 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
20254 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
20255 across group visits.
20257 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20258 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20259 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
20260 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
20261 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
20262 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
20263 manually entered data.
20265 @item gnus-summary-default-score
20266 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
20267 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
20269 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
20270 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
20271 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
20272 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
20273 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
20274 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
20276 @item gnus-score-over-mark
20277 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
20278 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
20279 default. Default is @samp{+}.
20281 @item gnus-score-below-mark
20282 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
20283 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
20284 default. Default is @samp{-}.
20286 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20287 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20288 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
20289 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
20291 Predefined functions available are:
20294 @item gnus-score-find-single
20295 @findex gnus-score-find-single
20296 Only apply the group's own score file.
20298 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
20299 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
20300 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
20301 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
20302 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
20303 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
20304 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
20305 then a regexp match is done.
20307 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
20308 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
20310 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
20311 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
20312 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
20313 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
20315 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20316 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20317 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
20318 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
20319 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
20323 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
20324 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
20325 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
20326 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
20327 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
20328 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
20329 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
20332 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
20333 overall score file, you could use the value
20335 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
20336 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
20339 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
20340 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
20341 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
20342 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
20343 are expired. It's 7 by default.
20345 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20346 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20347 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
20348 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
20349 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
20350 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
20351 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
20352 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
20354 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20355 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20356 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
20358 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
20359 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
20360 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
20361 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
20362 threading---according to the current value of
20363 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20364 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20365 simplified in this manner.
20370 @node Score File Format
20371 @section Score File Format
20372 @cindex score file format
20374 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20375 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20376 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20378 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20382 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20384 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20386 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20388 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20393 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20397 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20398 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20399 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20400 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20404 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20405 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20407 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20408 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20409 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20411 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20416 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20417 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20418 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20419 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20420 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20421 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20422 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20423 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20424 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20425 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20426 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20427 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20428 to articles that matches these score entries.
20430 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20431 score entry has one to four elements.
20435 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20436 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20440 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20441 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20442 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20443 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20444 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20445 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20448 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20449 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20450 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20451 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20452 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20455 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20456 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20457 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20458 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20461 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20462 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20463 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20464 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20465 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20466 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20467 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20468 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20469 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20470 instead, if you feel like.
20473 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20474 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20475 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20476 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20477 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20478 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20482 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20483 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20487 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20488 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20490 These predicates are true if
20493 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20496 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20497 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20504 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20505 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20506 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20507 it's not. I think.)
20509 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20510 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20511 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20512 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20515 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20516 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20517 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20518 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20519 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20520 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20521 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20525 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20526 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20527 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20528 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20529 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20530 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20531 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20532 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20535 @item Head, Body, All
20536 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20540 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20541 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20542 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20543 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20544 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20545 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20546 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20550 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20551 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20552 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20553 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20554 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20555 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20556 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20557 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20558 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20559 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20560 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20564 @cindex score file atoms
20566 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20567 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20570 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20571 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20573 @item mark-and-expunge
20574 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20575 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20578 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20579 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20580 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20581 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20582 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20585 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20586 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20589 @item exclude-files
20590 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20591 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20595 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
20596 ignored when handling global score files.
20599 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20600 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20601 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20602 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20605 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20606 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20607 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20608 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20610 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20614 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20617 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20618 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20619 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
20620 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20621 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20623 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20624 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20625 scoring rules exist.
20628 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20629 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20630 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20631 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20632 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20633 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20634 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20635 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20636 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20637 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20638 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20642 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20643 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20644 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20645 file for a number of groups.
20648 @cindex local variables
20649 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20650 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20651 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20652 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20653 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20658 @node Score File Editing
20659 @section Score File Editing
20661 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20662 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20663 with a mode for that.
20665 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20666 additional commands:
20671 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20672 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
20673 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20674 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
20677 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20678 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20679 Insert the current date in numerical format
20680 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20681 you were wondering.
20684 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20685 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20686 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20687 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20688 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20693 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20695 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20696 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20698 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20699 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20702 @node Adaptive Scoring
20703 @section Adaptive Scoring
20704 @cindex adaptive scoring
20706 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20707 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20708 stupidity, to be precise.
20710 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20711 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20712 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20713 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20714 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20715 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20716 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20717 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20718 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20720 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20721 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20722 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20723 might look something like this:
20726 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20727 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20728 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20729 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20730 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20731 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20732 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20733 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20734 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20735 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20736 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20737 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20740 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20741 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20742 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20743 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20744 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20745 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20748 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20749 will be applied to each article.
20751 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20752 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20753 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20754 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20756 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20757 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20758 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20759 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20761 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20762 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20763 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20764 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20766 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20767 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20768 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20769 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20770 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20771 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20773 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20774 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20775 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20777 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20778 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20779 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20781 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20782 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20783 let you use different rules in different groups.
20785 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20786 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20787 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20790 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20791 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20792 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20793 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20795 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20796 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20797 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20798 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20799 the length of the match is less than
20800 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20801 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20804 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20805 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20806 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20807 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20808 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20811 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20812 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20813 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20814 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20815 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20818 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20819 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20820 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20821 score with 30 points.
20823 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20824 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20825 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20826 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20827 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20829 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20830 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20831 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20832 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20833 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20835 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20836 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20837 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20838 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20840 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20841 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20842 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20843 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20845 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20846 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20847 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20848 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20849 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20851 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20852 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20853 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20855 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20856 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20857 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20858 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20861 @node Home Score File
20862 @section Home Score File
20864 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20865 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20866 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20867 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20869 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20870 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20871 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20873 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20874 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20879 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20883 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20884 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20888 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20892 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20893 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20896 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20897 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20898 name of the group as the parameter.
20901 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20904 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20909 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20912 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20913 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20916 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20917 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20919 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20921 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20922 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20925 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20926 Other functions include
20929 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20930 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20931 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20932 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20936 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20937 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20938 their own home score files:
20941 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20942 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20943 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20944 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20945 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20948 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20949 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20950 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20951 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20952 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20954 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20955 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20956 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20957 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20958 precedence over this variable.
20961 @node Followups To Yourself
20962 @section Followups To Yourself
20964 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20965 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20966 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20967 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20968 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20969 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20973 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20974 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20975 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20978 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20979 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20980 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20984 @vindex message-sent-hook
20985 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20986 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20988 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20992 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20993 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20997 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20998 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21001 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
21002 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
21007 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
21011 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
21012 is system-dependent.
21015 @node Scoring On Other Headers
21016 @section Scoring On Other Headers
21017 @cindex scoring on other headers
21019 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
21020 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
21021 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
21022 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
21023 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
21025 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
21026 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
21027 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
21028 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
21029 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
21031 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21034 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
21035 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
21038 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
21039 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
21040 time if you have much mail.
21042 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
21043 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
21047 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
21048 You can inhibit scoring the slow scoring on headers or body by setting
21049 the variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
21050 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
21051 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
21052 inhibited for all groups.
21056 @section Scoring Tips
21057 @cindex scoring tips
21063 @cindex scoring crossposts
21064 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
21065 the @code{Xref} header.
21067 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
21070 @item Multiple crossposts
21071 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
21072 more than, say, 3 groups:
21075 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
21079 @item Matching on the body
21080 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
21081 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
21082 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
21083 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
21084 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
21085 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
21086 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
21089 @item Marking as read
21090 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
21091 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
21092 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
21096 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
21098 @item Negated character classes
21099 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
21100 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
21101 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
21105 @node Reverse Scoring
21106 @section Reverse Scoring
21107 @cindex reverse scoring
21109 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
21110 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
21111 like this in your score file:
21115 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
21120 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
21121 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
21124 @node Global Score Files
21125 @section Global Score Files
21126 @cindex global score files
21128 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
21129 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
21130 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
21132 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
21133 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
21134 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
21136 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
21137 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
21138 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
21139 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
21140 files are applicable to which group.
21142 To use the score file
21143 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
21144 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
21148 (setq gnus-global-score-files
21149 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
21150 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
21153 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
21155 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
21156 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
21157 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
21158 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
21160 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
21161 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
21163 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
21164 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
21165 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
21166 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
21167 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
21168 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
21170 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
21176 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
21178 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
21180 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
21182 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
21183 lowered out of existence.
21185 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
21186 articles completely.
21189 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
21190 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
21191 old articles for a long time.
21194 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
21195 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
21196 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
21197 holding our breath yet?
21201 @section Kill Files
21204 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
21205 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
21206 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
21208 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
21209 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
21210 files into score files.
21212 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
21213 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
21214 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
21215 that isn't a very good idea.
21217 Normal kill files look like this:
21220 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21221 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
21225 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
21226 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
21228 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
21229 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
21232 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
21237 @kindex M-k (Summary)
21238 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
21239 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
21242 @kindex M-K (Summary)
21243 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
21244 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
21247 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
21252 @kindex M-k (Group)
21253 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
21254 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
21257 @kindex M-K (Group)
21258 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
21259 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
21262 Kill file variables:
21265 @item gnus-kill-file-name
21266 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
21267 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
21268 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
21269 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
21270 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
21271 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
21273 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21274 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21275 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
21276 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
21279 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
21280 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
21281 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
21282 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
21283 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
21284 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
21285 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
21286 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
21287 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
21289 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21290 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21291 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
21296 @node Converting Kill Files
21297 @section Converting Kill Files
21299 @cindex converting kill files
21301 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
21302 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
21303 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
21306 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
21307 You can fetch it from
21308 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
21310 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
21311 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
21312 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
21316 @node Advanced Scoring
21317 @section Advanced Scoring
21319 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
21320 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
21321 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
21322 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
21323 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
21325 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
21329 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
21330 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
21331 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
21335 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
21336 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
21338 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
21339 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
21340 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
21341 non-@code{nil} value.
21343 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
21344 operator, and various match operators.
21351 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21352 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
21353 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
21358 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21359 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
21360 then this operator will return @code{false}.
21365 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
21366 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21370 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21371 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21372 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21373 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21374 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21375 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21376 the ancestry you want to go.
21378 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21379 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21380 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21381 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21382 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21385 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21386 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21388 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21389 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21392 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21393 when he's talking about Gnus:
21398 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21399 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21406 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21410 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21417 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21418 really don't want to read what he's written:
21422 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21423 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
21427 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21428 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21429 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21436 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21437 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21438 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21439 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21443 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21444 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21445 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21446 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21449 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21451 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21455 The possibilities are endless.
21457 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21458 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21460 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21461 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21462 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21463 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21464 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21465 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21466 @samp{subject}) first.
21468 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21469 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21480 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21481 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21487 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21494 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21495 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21500 @section Score Decays
21501 @cindex score decays
21504 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21505 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21506 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21507 use them in any sensible way.
21509 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21510 @findex gnus-decay-score
21511 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21512 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21513 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21514 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21515 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21516 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21517 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21518 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21519 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21520 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21524 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21525 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21526 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21528 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21530 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21532 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21533 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21534 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21535 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21536 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21538 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21542 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21543 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21544 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21545 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21549 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21552 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21555 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21559 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21560 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21561 the new score, which should be an integer.
21563 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21564 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21569 @include message.texi
21570 @chapter Emacs MIME
21571 @include emacs-mime.texi
21573 @include sieve.texi
21585 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21586 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21587 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21588 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21589 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21590 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21591 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21592 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21593 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21594 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21595 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21596 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
21597 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21598 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21599 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21600 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21601 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21602 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21603 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
21604 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
21605 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21606 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21610 @node Process/Prefix
21611 @section Process/Prefix
21612 @cindex process/prefix convention
21614 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21615 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21617 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21618 command to be performed on.
21622 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21623 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21624 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21625 with the current one.
21627 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21628 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21629 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21631 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21632 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21635 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21636 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21638 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21641 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21642 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21643 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21644 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21646 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21647 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21648 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21649 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21650 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21651 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21652 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21653 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21655 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21656 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21657 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21658 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21659 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21663 @section Interactive
21664 @cindex interaction
21668 @item gnus-novice-user
21669 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21670 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21671 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21672 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21673 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21676 @item gnus-expert-user
21677 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21678 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21679 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
21680 matter how strange.
21682 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21683 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21684 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21685 is @code{t} by default.
21687 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21688 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21689 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21694 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21695 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21696 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21698 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21699 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21700 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21701 rule of 900 to the current article.
21703 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21704 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21705 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21706 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21707 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21708 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21709 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21711 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21712 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21713 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21714 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21715 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21716 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21717 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21718 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21719 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21721 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21722 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21723 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21725 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21729 @node Formatting Variables
21730 @section Formatting Variables
21731 @cindex formatting variables
21733 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21734 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21735 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21736 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21737 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21740 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21741 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21742 lots of percentages everywhere.
21745 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21746 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21747 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21748 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21749 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21750 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21751 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21752 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21755 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21756 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21757 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21758 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21759 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21760 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21761 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21762 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21764 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21765 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21767 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21768 @findex gnus-update-format
21769 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21770 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21771 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21772 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21776 @node Formatting Basics
21777 @subsection Formatting Basics
21779 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21780 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21781 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21783 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21784 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21785 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21786 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21787 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21790 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21791 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21792 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21793 less than 4 characters wide.
21795 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21796 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21799 @node Mode Line Formatting
21800 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21802 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21803 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21804 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21805 with the following two differences:
21810 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21813 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21814 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21815 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21816 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21817 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21818 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21819 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21824 @node Advanced Formatting
21825 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21827 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21828 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21829 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21830 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21832 These are the valid modifiers:
21837 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21841 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21846 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21849 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21854 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21857 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
21860 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
21863 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
21869 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
21874 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
21875 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
21876 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
21877 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
21878 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
21879 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
21880 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
21882 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
21883 last operation, padding.
21885 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
21886 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
21887 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
21888 @xref{Compilation}.
21891 @node User-Defined Specs
21892 @subsection User-Defined Specs
21894 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
21895 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
21896 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
21897 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
21898 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
21899 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
21900 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
21901 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
21902 should protect against that.
21904 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
21905 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
21907 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
21908 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
21909 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
21910 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
21914 @node Formatting Fonts
21915 @subsection Formatting Fonts
21917 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
21918 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
21919 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
21920 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
21923 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
21924 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
21925 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
21926 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
21927 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
21928 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
21930 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
21931 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
21932 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
21933 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
21934 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
21935 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
21936 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
21937 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
21938 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
21939 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
21940 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
21943 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
21946 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
21947 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
21948 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
21950 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
21951 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
21952 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
21953 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
21954 ;; @r{Set the color.}
21955 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
21956 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
21958 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
21959 (setq gnus-group-line-format
21960 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
21963 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
21964 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
21966 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
21967 mode-line variables.
21969 @node Positioning Point
21970 @subsection Positioning Point
21972 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
21973 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
21974 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
21976 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
21978 @findex gnus-goto-colon
21979 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
21980 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
21982 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
21983 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
21984 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
21989 @subsection Tabulation
21991 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
21992 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
21993 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
21994 about lining up the following text afterwards.
21996 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
21997 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
21999 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22000 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22001 This is the soft tabulator.
22003 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22004 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22005 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22008 @node Wide Characters
22009 @subsection Wide Characters
22011 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22012 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22013 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22015 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22016 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22017 these countries, that's not true.
22019 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22020 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22021 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22022 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22026 @node Window Layout
22027 @section Window Layout
22028 @cindex window layout
22030 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22032 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22033 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22034 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22035 @code{t} by default.
22037 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22038 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22040 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22041 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22042 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22045 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
22046 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
22047 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22051 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22052 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22053 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22054 possible names is listed below.
22056 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22057 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22060 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22064 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22065 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22066 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22067 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22068 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22069 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22070 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22071 size spec per split.
22073 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22074 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22075 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22076 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22077 present) gets focus.
22079 Here's a more complicated example:
22082 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22083 (summary 0.25 point)
22084 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
22088 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22089 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22090 occupy, not a percentage.
22092 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22093 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22094 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22095 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
22096 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
22099 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22102 (article (horizontal 1.0
22107 (summary 0.25 point)
22112 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22113 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22115 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22116 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22117 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22118 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22119 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22121 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22122 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22123 lines from the splits.
22125 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22130 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22131 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22132 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22133 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22134 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22135 size = number | frame-params
22136 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22140 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22141 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22142 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22143 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22145 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22146 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22147 @cindex window height
22148 @cindex window width
22149 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22150 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22151 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22152 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22153 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22154 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22156 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22157 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22158 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22159 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22161 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22162 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22163 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22164 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22165 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22166 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22167 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22168 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22169 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22170 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22171 configuration list.
22174 (gnus-configure-frame
22178 (article 0.3 point))
22186 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22187 @code{frame} split:
22190 (gnus-configure-frame
22193 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22195 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22196 (user-position . t)
22197 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22202 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22203 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22204 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22205 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22206 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22207 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22208 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22209 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22211 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22212 be found in its default value.
22214 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22215 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22216 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22220 (message (horizontal 1.0
22221 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22223 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22228 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22229 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22230 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22235 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22236 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22237 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22238 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22239 (name . "Message"))
22240 (message 1.0 point))))
22243 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22244 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22245 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22246 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22247 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22250 (gnus-add-configuration
22251 '(article (vertical 1.0
22253 (summary .25 point)
22257 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22258 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22259 Gnus has been loaded.
22261 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22262 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22263 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22264 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22265 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22267 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22268 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22269 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22272 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22276 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22277 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22292 (gnus-add-configuration
22295 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22297 (summary 0.16 point)
22300 (gnus-add-configuration
22303 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22304 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22310 @node Faces and Fonts
22311 @section Faces and Fonts
22316 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22317 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22318 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22323 @section Compilation
22324 @cindex compilation
22325 @cindex byte-compilation
22327 @findex gnus-compile
22329 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22330 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22331 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22332 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22333 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22334 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22337 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22338 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22339 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22340 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22341 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22342 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22343 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22347 @section Mode Lines
22350 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22351 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22352 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22353 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22354 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22355 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22356 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22359 @cindex display-time
22361 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22362 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22363 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22364 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22365 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22366 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22367 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22368 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22371 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22373 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22374 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22376 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22377 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22378 (length display-time-string)))))
22381 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22382 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22383 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22384 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22385 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22388 @node Highlighting and Menus
22389 @section Highlighting and Menus
22391 @cindex highlighting
22394 @vindex gnus-visual
22395 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22396 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22397 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22400 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22401 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22404 @item group-highlight
22405 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22406 @item summary-highlight
22407 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22408 @item article-highlight
22409 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22411 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22413 Create menus in the group buffer.
22415 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22417 Create menus in the article buffer.
22419 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22421 Create menus in the server buffer.
22423 Create menus in the score buffers.
22425 Create menus in all buffers.
22428 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22429 buffers, you could say something like:
22432 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22435 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22438 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22441 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22442 in all Gnus buffers.
22444 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22447 @item gnus-mouse-face
22448 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22449 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22450 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22454 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22458 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22459 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22460 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22462 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22463 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22464 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22466 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22467 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22468 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22470 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22471 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22472 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22474 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22475 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22476 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22478 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22479 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22480 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22491 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22492 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22493 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22494 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22495 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22499 @vindex gnus-carpal
22500 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22501 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22502 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22507 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22508 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22509 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22511 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22512 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22513 Face used on buttons.
22515 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22516 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22517 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22519 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22520 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22521 Buttons in the group buffer.
22523 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22524 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22525 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22527 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22528 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22529 Buttons in the server buffer.
22531 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22532 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22533 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22536 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22537 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22538 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22546 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22547 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22548 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22549 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22550 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22552 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22553 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22554 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22556 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22557 been idle for thirty minutes:
22560 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22563 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22567 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22570 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22571 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22572 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22574 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22575 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22576 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22577 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22579 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22580 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22581 @var{idle} minutes.
22583 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22584 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22587 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22588 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22589 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22591 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22592 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22593 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22594 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22596 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22597 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22599 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22601 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22604 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
22605 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22606 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22607 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22608 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22609 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22610 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22611 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22612 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22613 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22614 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22616 @findex gnus-demon-init
22617 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22618 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22619 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22620 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22621 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22623 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22624 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22625 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22634 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
22635 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
22637 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
22638 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
22639 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
22640 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
22643 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
22644 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
22645 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
22646 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
22648 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
22649 this will make spam disappear.
22651 There are some variables to customize, of course:
22654 @item gnus-use-nocem
22655 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
22656 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
22659 You can also set this variable to a positive number as a group level.
22660 In that case, Gnus scans NoCeM messages when checking new news if this
22661 value is not exceeding a group level that you specify as the prefix
22662 argument to some commands, e.g. @code{gnus},
22663 @code{gnus-group-get-new-news}, etc. Otherwise, Gnus does not scan
22664 NoCeM messages if you specify a group level to those commands. For
22665 example, if you use 1 or 2 on the mail groups and the levels on the news
22666 groups remain the default, 3 is the best choice.
22668 @item gnus-nocem-groups
22669 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
22670 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
22673 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
22674 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
22677 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
22678 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
22679 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
22680 people you want to listen to. The default is
22682 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
22683 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
22685 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
22687 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
22688 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
22690 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
22691 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
22692 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
22693 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
22694 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
22695 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
22696 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
22697 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
22698 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
22699 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
22701 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
22702 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
22705 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
22708 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
22709 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
22712 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
22715 The specs are applied left-to-right.
22718 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
22719 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
22721 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
22722 says she is. The default is @code{pgg-verify}, which returns
22723 non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful, otherwise (including
22724 the case the NoCeM message was not signed) returns @code{nil}. If this
22725 is too slow and you don't care for verification (which may be dangerous),
22726 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
22728 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
22729 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into
22730 @code{pgg-verify} running with GnuPG if you are willing to add the
22731 @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
22733 @item gnus-nocem-directory
22734 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
22735 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
22736 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
22738 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22739 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22740 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
22741 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
22742 might then see old spam.
22744 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
22745 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
22746 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
22747 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
22748 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
22751 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22752 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22753 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
22754 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
22758 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
22759 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
22760 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
22761 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
22768 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22769 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22770 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22772 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22773 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22774 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22775 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22776 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22777 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22778 @code{undo} function.
22780 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22781 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22782 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22783 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22784 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22785 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22786 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22787 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22788 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22789 never be totally undoable.
22791 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22792 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22794 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22795 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22796 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22797 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22801 @node Predicate Specifiers
22802 @section Predicate Specifiers
22803 @cindex predicate specifiers
22805 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22806 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22807 to type all that much.
22809 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22814 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22815 gnus-article-unread-p)
22818 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22819 functions all take one parameter.
22821 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22822 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22823 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22824 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22829 @section Moderation
22832 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22833 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22834 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22837 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22841 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22844 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22846 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22851 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22852 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22853 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22856 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22857 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22860 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22861 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22865 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22868 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22869 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22873 @node Fetching a Group
22874 @section Fetching a Group
22875 @cindex fetching a group
22877 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22878 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22879 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22880 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22881 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22882 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22885 @node Image Enhancements
22886 @section Image Enhancements
22888 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22889 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
22890 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
22893 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22894 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22895 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22896 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22897 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22905 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22906 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22907 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22911 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22912 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22913 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22921 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22922 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
22923 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
22924 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
22925 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
22926 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
22927 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
22928 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
22929 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22930 @code{display} program.
22932 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
22933 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
22934 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
22935 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
22936 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
22937 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
22938 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
22939 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
22941 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
22942 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
22943 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22944 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22945 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
22946 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22948 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22956 @vindex gnus-x-face
22957 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22958 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22959 default colors are black and white.
22961 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22962 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22963 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22964 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22965 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22966 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22969 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22970 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22971 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22972 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22974 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22975 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22976 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22977 (png . (:relief -2))))
22980 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22981 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22982 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22983 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22984 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22985 @samp{libcompface} library.
22988 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
22989 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
22990 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
22991 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
22992 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
22993 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
22995 @findex gnus-random-x-face
22996 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
22997 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
22998 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
22999 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23000 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23001 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23002 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23003 header data as a string.
23005 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23006 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23007 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23008 randomly generated data.
23010 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23011 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23012 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23013 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23014 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23016 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23017 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23020 (setq message-required-news-headers
23021 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23022 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23025 Using the last function would be something like this:
23028 (setq message-required-news-headers
23029 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23030 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23031 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23032 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23040 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23042 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23043 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23044 represent the author of the message.
23047 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23048 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23049 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23052 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23053 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23055 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23058 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23060 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23062 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23063 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23065 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23066 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23067 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23069 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23070 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23071 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23072 converts the file to Face format by using the
23073 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23075 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23076 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23079 (setq message-required-news-headers
23080 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23081 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23082 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23087 @subsection Smileys
23092 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23097 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23098 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23100 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23101 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23104 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23107 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23108 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23109 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23110 text and maps that to file names.
23112 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23113 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23114 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23115 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23116 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23119 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
23124 @item smiley-data-directory
23125 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23126 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
23128 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23129 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23130 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23144 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23145 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23146 over your shoulder as you read news.
23148 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23157 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23158 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23159 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23160 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23161 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23162 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23163 @code{GIF} formats.
23166 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23167 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23168 point your Web browser at
23169 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23171 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23172 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23174 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23175 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23178 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23179 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23180 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23181 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23183 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23187 @item gnus-picon-databases
23188 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23189 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23190 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23191 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23192 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23194 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23195 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23196 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23197 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23199 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23200 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23201 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23202 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23204 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23205 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23206 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23207 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23208 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23210 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23211 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23212 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23213 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23219 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23222 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23223 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23224 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23225 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23226 unusual directory structure.
23228 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23229 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23230 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23235 @subsubsection Toolbar
23239 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23240 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23241 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23242 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23243 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23244 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23245 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23246 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23248 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23249 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23250 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23251 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23252 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23253 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23255 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23256 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23257 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23259 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23260 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23261 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23263 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23264 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23265 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23276 @node Fuzzy Matching
23277 @section Fuzzy Matching
23278 @cindex fuzzy matching
23280 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23281 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23283 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23284 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23285 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23287 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23288 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23289 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23290 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23291 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23294 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23295 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23299 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23301 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23302 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23303 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23304 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23305 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23306 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23307 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23308 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23311 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23312 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23313 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23314 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23315 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23316 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23318 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23321 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23322 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23323 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23324 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23327 @node The problem of spam
23328 @subsection The problem of spam
23330 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23331 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23333 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23335 First, some background on spam.
23337 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23338 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23339 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23340 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23341 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23342 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23343 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23344 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23345 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23347 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23348 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23349 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23350 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23351 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23352 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23353 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23354 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23355 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23358 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23359 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23360 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23361 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23362 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23363 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23364 from Bulgarian IPs.
23366 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23367 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23368 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23369 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23371 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23372 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23373 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23374 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23376 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23377 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23378 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23379 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23380 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23381 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23382 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23383 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23384 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23386 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23387 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23388 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23389 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23390 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23391 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23392 down for some time because of the incident.
23394 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23395 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23396 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23397 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23398 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23399 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23400 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23401 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23402 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23403 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23404 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23406 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23407 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23408 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23409 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23410 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23411 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23412 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23415 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23416 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23420 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23422 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23423 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23425 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23426 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23427 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23428 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23429 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23430 part of the mail address.)
23433 (setq message-default-news-headers
23434 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23437 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23438 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23442 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23443 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23444 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23449 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23450 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23451 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23452 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23454 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23455 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23456 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23457 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23458 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23459 your fancy split rule in this way:
23464 (to "larsi" "misc")
23468 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23469 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23470 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23471 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23472 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23474 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23475 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23476 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23477 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23479 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23483 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23484 @cindex SpamAssassin
23485 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23488 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23489 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23490 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23491 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23492 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23493 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23494 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23496 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23497 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23498 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23501 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23502 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23503 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23504 Specifiers}) follow.
23508 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23512 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23515 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23516 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23517 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23520 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23524 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23527 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23528 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23532 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23533 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23534 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23535 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23538 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23540 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23544 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23545 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23549 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23550 downloaded by default. You need to set
23551 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23552 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
23554 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23555 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23556 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23559 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23560 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23562 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
23563 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
23564 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23568 @subsection Hashcash
23571 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23572 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23573 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23574 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23575 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23577 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23578 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23579 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23580 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23581 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23582 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23583 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23584 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23585 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23586 one of them separately.
23589 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23590 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23591 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23592 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23593 need to install to use this feature, see
23594 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23595 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23597 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23598 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23599 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23602 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23605 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23609 @item hashcash-default-payment
23610 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23611 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23612 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23615 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23616 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23617 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23618 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23619 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23620 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23621 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23622 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23623 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23625 @item hashcash-path
23626 @vindex hashcash-path
23627 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23628 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23629 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23630 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23631 when you generate hashcash payments.
23635 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23636 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23637 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23638 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23639 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23640 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23641 Hashcash Payments}).
23644 @section Spam Package
23645 @cindex spam filtering
23648 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
23649 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
23650 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
23651 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
23654 * Spam Package Introduction::
23655 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
23656 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
23657 * Spam and Ham Processors::
23658 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
23660 * Extending the Spam package::
23661 * Spam Statistics Package::
23664 @node Spam Package Introduction
23665 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
23666 @cindex spam filtering
23667 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23670 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
23671 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23673 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23674 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
23676 @cindex spam-initialize
23677 @vindex spam-use-stat
23678 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
23679 @code{spam-initialize}:
23685 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
23686 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
23687 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
23688 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
23689 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
23691 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
23692 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
23694 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
23695 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
23697 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
23698 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
23699 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
23700 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
23701 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
23703 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
23704 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
23705 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
23706 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
23707 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
23710 @cindex spam back ends
23711 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
23712 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
23713 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
23714 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
23715 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23717 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
23718 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
23720 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
23721 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
23722 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
23723 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
23724 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
23725 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
23726 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
23728 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
23729 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
23730 point, the Spam package does several things:
23732 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
23733 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
23734 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
23735 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
23736 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
23737 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
23738 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
23739 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
23742 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
23743 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
23753 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23754 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23755 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
23756 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
23760 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
23761 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
23763 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
23764 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
23765 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
23766 to be processed as ham by setting
23767 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23768 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
23770 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23771 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23772 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
23773 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
23774 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
23775 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
23776 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
23777 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
23778 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
23779 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
23780 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
23781 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
23783 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
23784 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
23785 want each article to be processed only once, load the
23786 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
23787 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
23788 Configuration Examples}.
23790 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
23791 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
23792 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
23793 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
23795 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
23796 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23798 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23799 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23800 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23802 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
23803 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
23804 @cindex spam filtering
23805 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23808 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
23809 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
23810 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
23811 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23812 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
23818 @vindex spam-split-group
23820 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
23821 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
23822 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
23823 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
23824 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
23825 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
23826 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
23827 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
23828 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
23830 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
23832 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
23833 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
23834 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
23835 you should also set set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body}
23836 to @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can
23837 ``scan'' the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only
23838 retrieves the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells
23839 it to retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by
23840 default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
23841 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Splitting
23844 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
23845 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
23846 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
23847 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
23848 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
23849 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
23850 ends, and the following split rule:
23853 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23854 (any "ding" "ding")
23856 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23861 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
23862 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
23863 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
23864 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
23865 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
23866 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23868 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
23869 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
23870 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
23871 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
23876 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23877 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23878 (any "ding" "ding")
23879 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23881 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23886 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23887 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
23888 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23889 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23890 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23891 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23892 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23894 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23895 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23896 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23897 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23899 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
23900 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
23903 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
23904 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
23906 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
23907 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
23908 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
23909 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23911 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23912 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23913 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23914 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
23916 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
23917 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
23918 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
23920 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
23921 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
23922 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
23923 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
23924 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
23925 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
23926 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
23928 @node Spam and Ham Processors
23929 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
23930 @cindex spam filtering
23931 @cindex spam filtering variables
23932 @cindex spam variables
23935 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23936 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
23937 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
23938 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
23939 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
23940 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
23941 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
23943 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
23944 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
23945 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
23946 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
23948 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23949 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
23950 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
23951 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
23952 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
23953 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
23954 by customizing the corresponding variable
23955 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
23956 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
23957 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
23958 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
23959 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
23960 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
23961 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
23964 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
23966 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
23967 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
23968 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
23969 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
23970 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
23971 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
23972 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
23973 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
23974 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
23975 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
23976 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
23977 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
23978 processor which will study them as spam samples.
23980 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
23981 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
23982 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
23983 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
23984 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
23985 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
23986 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
23987 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
23990 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23991 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
23992 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
23993 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
23994 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
23995 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
23996 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24001 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24002 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24003 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24004 you really want to.
24007 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24008 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24009 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24010 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24011 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24012 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24015 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24016 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24017 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24018 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24019 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24020 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24021 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24022 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24023 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24024 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24025 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24026 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24027 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24028 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24029 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24031 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24032 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24034 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24035 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24036 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24038 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24039 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24041 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24042 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24043 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24044 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24045 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24047 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24048 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24049 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24050 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24051 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24054 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24055 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24056 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24057 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24058 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24059 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24060 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24061 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24062 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24063 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24064 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24065 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24066 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24068 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24069 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24071 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24072 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24075 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24076 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24077 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24078 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24079 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24080 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24081 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24083 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24084 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24085 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24086 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24088 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24089 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24090 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24091 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24092 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24093 from the mail server.
24095 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24096 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24097 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24098 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24100 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24101 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24102 @cindex spam filtering
24103 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24104 @cindex spam configuration examples
24107 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24109 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24111 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24112 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24113 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24117 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24119 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24120 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24121 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24122 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24123 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24124 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24125 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24126 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24127 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24128 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24129 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24130 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24131 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24132 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24133 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24134 (any "ding" "ding")
24135 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24137 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24140 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24142 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24143 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24144 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24145 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24147 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24149 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24150 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24151 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24152 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24153 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24155 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24156 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24158 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24160 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24161 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24163 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24164 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24165 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24167 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24169 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24170 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24172 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24173 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24174 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24176 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24177 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24178 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24179 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24181 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24182 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24183 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24187 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24188 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24190 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24191 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24192 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24193 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24194 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24195 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24196 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24197 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24198 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24200 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24201 does most of the job for me:
24204 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24205 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24206 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24207 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24208 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24209 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24210 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24215 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24217 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24218 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24219 bogofilter or DCC).
24221 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24222 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24223 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24224 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24225 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24226 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24227 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24229 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24230 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24231 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24232 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24233 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24234 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24236 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24238 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24239 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24240 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24241 @samp{training.spam}.
24244 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24246 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24248 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24249 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24250 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24254 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24257 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24258 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24259 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24260 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24261 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24263 @node Spam Back Ends
24264 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24265 @cindex spam back ends
24267 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24268 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24269 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24270 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24274 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24275 * BBDB Whitelists::
24276 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24277 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24279 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24281 * SpamAssassin back end::
24282 * ifile spam filtering::
24283 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24287 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24288 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24289 @cindex spam filtering
24290 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24291 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24294 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24296 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24297 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24298 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24299 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24304 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24306 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24307 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24308 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24309 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24310 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24314 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24316 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24317 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24318 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24322 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24324 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24325 customizing the group parameters or the
24326 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24327 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24328 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24332 Instead of the obsolete
24333 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24334 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24335 the same way, we promise.
24339 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24341 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24342 customizing the group parameters or the
24343 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24344 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24345 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24350 Instead of the obsolete
24351 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24352 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24353 the same way, we promise.
24357 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24358 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24359 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24360 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24361 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24363 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24364 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24365 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24366 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24368 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24369 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24370 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24371 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24372 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24373 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24375 @node BBDB Whitelists
24376 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24377 @cindex spam filtering
24378 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24379 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24382 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24384 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24385 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24386 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24387 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24388 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24389 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24390 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24394 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24396 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24397 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24398 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24399 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24400 classified as spammers.
24402 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24403 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24404 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24405 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24410 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24412 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24413 customizing the group parameters or the
24414 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24415 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24416 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24421 Instead of the obsolete
24422 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24423 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24424 the same way, we promise.
24428 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24429 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24430 @cindex spam reporting
24431 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24432 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24435 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24437 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24438 customizing the group parameters or the
24439 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24440 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24441 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24444 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24448 Instead of the obsolete
24449 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24450 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24451 same way, we promise.
24455 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24457 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24458 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24459 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24460 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24461 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24465 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24467 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24468 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24469 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24473 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24474 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24475 @cindex spam filtering
24476 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24479 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24481 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24482 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24483 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24484 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24485 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24486 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24491 @subsubsection Blackholes
24492 @cindex spam filtering
24493 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24496 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24498 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24499 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24500 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24501 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24502 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24503 contains outdated servers.
24505 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24506 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24507 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24508 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24509 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24510 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24514 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24516 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24520 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24522 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24523 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24527 @defvar spam-use-dig
24529 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24530 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24534 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24535 ham processor for blackholes.
24537 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24538 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24539 @cindex spam filtering
24540 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24543 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24545 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24546 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24547 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24548 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24549 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24550 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24554 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24556 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24557 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24561 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24563 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24564 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24568 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24569 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24572 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24573 @cindex spam filtering
24574 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24577 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24579 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24582 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24583 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24584 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24585 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24586 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24587 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24589 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24590 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24593 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24594 processing will be turned off.
24596 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24605 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
24606 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
24609 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24611 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24612 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24613 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24614 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24615 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24616 installation documents for details.
24618 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24622 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24623 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24624 customizing the group parameters or the
24625 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24626 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24627 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24631 Instead of the obsolete
24632 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24633 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24634 the same way, we promise.
24637 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24638 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24639 customizing the group parameters or the
24640 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24641 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24642 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24643 of non-spam messages.
24647 Instead of the obsolete
24648 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24649 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24650 the same way, we promise.
24653 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24655 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24656 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24657 database directory.
24661 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24662 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24663 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24664 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24665 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24666 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24668 @node SpamAssassin back end
24669 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24670 @cindex spam filtering
24671 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24674 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24676 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24678 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24679 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24680 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24681 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24684 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24685 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24686 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24687 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24690 You should not enable this if you use
24691 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24695 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24697 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24698 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24700 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24704 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
24706 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24707 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24708 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24709 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24713 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24714 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24715 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24716 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24717 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24718 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24719 to test this functionality.
24721 @node ifile spam filtering
24722 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24723 @cindex spam filtering
24724 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24727 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24729 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24730 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24734 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24736 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24737 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24738 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24742 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24744 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24745 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24746 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24749 @defvar spam-ifile-database
24751 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24752 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24756 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24757 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24758 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24759 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24762 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
24763 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
24764 @cindex spam filtering
24765 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24769 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
24770 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
24771 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
24772 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
24773 spam-stat dictionary}.
24775 @defvar spam-use-stat
24779 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24780 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24781 customizing the group parameters or the
24782 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24783 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24784 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24788 Instead of the obsolete
24789 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24790 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24791 the same way, we promise.
24794 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24795 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24796 customizing the group parameters or the
24797 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24798 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24799 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24800 of non-spam messages.
24804 Instead of the obsolete
24805 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24806 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24807 the same way, we promise.
24810 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24811 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24812 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24813 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24814 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24817 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24818 @cindex spam filtering
24822 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24823 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24824 installed separately.
24826 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24827 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24828 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24829 mail as a spam mail or not.
24831 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24832 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24833 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24835 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
24838 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24839 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24840 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24841 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
24842 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
24843 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
24844 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
24845 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
24848 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24849 spam-split-group "Junk"
24850 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24851 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24852 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24855 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24856 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24860 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24861 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24862 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24866 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24867 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24868 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
24869 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24870 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24871 database to live somewhere special, set
24872 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24875 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24876 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24877 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
24878 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24879 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24880 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
24881 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
24882 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
24883 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
24884 @xref{Spam Package}.
24886 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24887 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24888 customizing the group parameter or the
24889 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24890 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24891 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24895 Instead of the obsolete
24896 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24897 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24898 the same way, we promise.
24901 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24902 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24903 customizing the group parameter or the
24904 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24905 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24906 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24911 Instead of the obsolete
24912 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24913 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24914 the same way, we promise.
24917 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24918 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24921 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24922 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24923 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24925 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24926 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24927 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24928 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24929 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24930 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24932 @node Extending the Spam package
24933 @subsection Extending the Spam package
24934 @cindex spam filtering
24935 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24936 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
24938 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
24939 incoming mail, provide the following:
24947 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
24948 "True if blackbox should be used.")
24951 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
24953 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
24954 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
24955 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
24956 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
24957 register/unregister spam and ham.
24962 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
24963 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
24964 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
24965 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
24970 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
24977 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
24978 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
24980 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
24981 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
24982 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
24983 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
24986 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
24987 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
24988 Only applicable to spam groups.")
24990 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
24991 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
24992 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25001 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25002 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25004 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25005 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25006 variable customization.
25010 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25012 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25013 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25015 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25016 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25022 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25024 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25025 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25026 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25029 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25031 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25032 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25036 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25038 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25039 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25040 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25044 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25046 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25047 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25048 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25051 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25053 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25054 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25058 @code{spam-install-backend}
25060 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25061 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25062 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25065 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25067 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25068 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25069 never install such a back end.
25074 @node Spam Statistics Package
25075 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25076 @cindex Paul Graham
25077 @cindex Graham, Paul
25078 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25079 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25080 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25082 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25083 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25084 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25085 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25086 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25087 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25088 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25089 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25090 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25093 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25094 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25095 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25096 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25097 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25098 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25099 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25100 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25102 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25103 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25104 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25106 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25107 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25108 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25109 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25110 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25113 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25114 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25115 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25118 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25119 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25121 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25122 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25123 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25124 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25125 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25127 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25128 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25129 per mail. Use the following:
25131 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25132 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25133 is treated as one spam mail.
25136 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25137 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25138 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25141 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25142 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25143 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25144 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25145 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25146 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25148 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25149 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25150 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25151 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25152 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25155 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25156 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25157 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25158 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25161 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25162 reset the dictionary.
25164 @defun spam-stat-reset
25165 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25168 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25169 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25170 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25171 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25172 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25173 only non-spam mails.
25175 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25176 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25177 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25180 @defun spam-stat-save
25181 Save the dictionary.
25184 @defvar spam-stat-file
25185 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25186 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25189 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25190 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25192 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25193 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25195 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25198 (require 'spam-stat)
25202 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25205 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25206 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25207 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25208 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25210 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25211 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25212 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25213 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25216 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25217 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25221 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25222 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25225 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25226 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25227 expression are considered potential spam.
25230 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25231 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25232 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25236 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25237 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25238 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25239 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25240 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25243 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25244 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25245 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25249 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25250 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25251 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25252 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25253 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25257 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25258 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25259 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25260 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25265 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25266 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25268 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25270 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25271 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25272 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25275 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25276 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25277 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25280 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25281 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25282 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25283 already been processed as non-spam.
25286 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25287 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25288 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25289 been processed as spam.
25292 @defun spam-stat-save
25293 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25294 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25297 @defun spam-stat-load
25298 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25299 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25302 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25303 Return the spam score for a word.
25306 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25307 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25310 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25311 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25312 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25315 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25316 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25319 (require 'spam-stat)
25323 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25326 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25327 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25328 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
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")
25334 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25335 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25336 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25337 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25338 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25339 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25342 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25345 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25346 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25347 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25348 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25349 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25350 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25354 @section Interaction with other modes
25359 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
25360 buffers. It is enabled with
25362 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25367 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25368 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
25369 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25370 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25373 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25374 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25375 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25379 @findex gnus-dired-print
25380 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25381 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25384 @node Various Various
25385 @section Various Various
25391 @item gnus-home-directory
25392 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25393 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25394 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25396 @item gnus-directory
25397 @vindex gnus-directory
25398 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25399 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25400 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25402 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
25403 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25404 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25405 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25407 @item gnus-default-directory
25408 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25409 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25410 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25411 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25412 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25413 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25414 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25417 @vindex gnus-verbose
25418 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25419 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25420 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25421 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25422 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25424 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25425 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25426 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25427 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25429 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25430 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25431 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25432 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25433 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25434 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25435 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25436 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25437 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25438 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25440 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25441 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25442 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25443 read when doing the operation described above.
25445 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25446 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25448 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25449 @cindex characters in file names
25450 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25451 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25452 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25456 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25461 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25462 Windows (phooey) systems.
25464 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25465 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25466 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25467 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25468 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25470 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25471 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25472 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25473 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25474 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25476 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25477 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25478 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25480 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25481 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25483 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25484 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25485 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25486 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25489 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25497 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25498 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25500 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25502 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25508 Not because of victories @*
25511 but for the common sunshine,@*
25513 the largess of the spring.
25517 but for the day's work done@*
25518 as well as I was able;@*
25519 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25520 but at the common table.@*
25525 @chapter Appendices
25528 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25529 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25530 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25531 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25532 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25533 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25534 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25535 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25536 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25543 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25545 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25546 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25547 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25548 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25549 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25550 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25557 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25558 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25560 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25561 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25562 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25563 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25564 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25566 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25567 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25568 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25569 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25570 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25571 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25573 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25574 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25575 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25576 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25579 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25580 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25581 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25582 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25583 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25584 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25585 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25586 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25587 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25591 @node Gnus Versions
25592 @subsection Gnus Versions
25594 @cindex September Gnus
25596 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25597 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25600 @cindex Gnus versions
25602 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25603 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25604 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25606 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25607 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25609 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25610 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25612 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25613 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25615 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25616 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25619 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25620 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25622 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25624 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25625 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25626 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25627 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25628 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25629 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25632 @node Other Gnus Versions
25633 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25636 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25637 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25638 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25639 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25641 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25642 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25643 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25644 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25651 What's the point of Gnus?
25653 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25654 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25655 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25656 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25657 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25658 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25659 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25660 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25661 keep track of millions of people who post?
25663 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25664 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25665 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25666 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25667 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25668 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25669 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25670 every one of you to explore and invent.
25672 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25673 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25676 @node Compatibility
25677 @subsection Compatibility
25679 @cindex compatibility
25680 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25681 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25682 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25687 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25691 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25694 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25697 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25698 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25699 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25700 important variables have their values copied into their global
25701 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25702 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25704 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25705 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25706 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25707 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25708 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25712 @cindex highlighting
25713 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25714 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25715 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25716 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25717 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25718 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25721 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25722 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25723 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25724 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25726 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25727 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25728 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25729 to stop doing it the old way.
25731 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25733 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25735 @cindex reporting bugs
25737 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25738 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25739 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25741 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25742 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25743 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25744 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25749 @subsection Conformity
25751 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25752 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25760 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25764 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
25766 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
25767 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
25768 We do have some breaches to this one.
25774 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
25775 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
25776 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
25777 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
25778 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
25783 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
25784 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
25785 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
25786 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
25788 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
25789 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
25790 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
25792 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
25793 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
25795 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
25798 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
25799 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
25800 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
25801 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
25802 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
25805 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
25806 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
25807 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
25808 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
25810 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
25811 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
25813 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
25814 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
25815 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
25816 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
25817 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
25818 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
25819 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
25820 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
25824 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
25825 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
25830 @subsection Emacsen
25836 Gnus should work on:
25844 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
25848 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
25849 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
25850 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
25851 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
25853 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
25854 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
25855 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
25859 @node Gnus Development
25860 @subsection Gnus Development
25862 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
25863 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
25864 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
25865 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
25866 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
25867 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
25868 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
25869 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
25871 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
25872 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
25873 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
25874 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
25875 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
25878 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
25879 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
25880 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
25881 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
25882 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
25884 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
25885 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
25886 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
25887 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
25888 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
25889 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
25890 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
25891 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
25892 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
25893 can't be assumed to do so.
25898 @subsection Contributors
25899 @cindex contributors
25901 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
25902 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
25903 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
25904 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
25905 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
25906 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
25907 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
25908 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
25909 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
25910 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
25912 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
25918 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
25921 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
25922 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
25923 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
25924 functionality and stuff.
25927 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
25928 well as numerous other things).
25931 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
25934 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
25937 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
25940 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
25943 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
25944 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
25947 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
25950 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
25953 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
25956 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
25959 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
25962 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
25965 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
25966 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
25969 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
25972 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
25975 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
25978 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
25982 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
25985 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
25988 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
25991 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
25992 well as autoconf support.
25996 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
25997 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
25999 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26014 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26016 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26020 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26030 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26045 Massimo Campostrini,
26050 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26051 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26055 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26058 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26064 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26069 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26073 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26081 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26083 Michelangelo Grigni,
26087 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26089 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26091 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26098 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26099 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26100 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26102 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26112 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26113 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26115 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26116 Thor Kristoffersen,
26119 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26137 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26138 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26145 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26150 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26154 John McClary Prevost,
26160 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26165 Christian von Roques,
26168 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26175 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26177 Randal L. Schwartz,
26191 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26196 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26216 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26217 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26218 (550kB and counting).
26220 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26223 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26224 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26228 @subsection New Features
26229 @cindex new features
26232 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26233 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26234 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26235 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26236 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26237 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26238 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26241 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26242 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26243 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26246 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26248 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26253 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26254 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26257 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26258 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26261 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26264 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26265 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26266 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26269 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26270 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26271 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26272 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26275 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26276 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26279 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26280 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26281 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26284 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26285 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
26288 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
26289 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
26290 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26293 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
26294 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
26295 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
26298 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
26299 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
26302 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
26303 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
26306 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
26307 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
26310 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
26311 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26314 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
26315 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
26318 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
26319 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26322 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
26325 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
26326 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
26329 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
26330 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
26333 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
26334 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26337 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26340 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26341 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26344 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26348 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26352 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26353 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26356 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
26362 @node September Gnus
26363 @subsubsection September Gnus
26367 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26371 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26376 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26377 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26381 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26382 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26386 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26390 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26391 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26394 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26398 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26401 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26404 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26407 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26411 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26412 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26415 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26419 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26423 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26427 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26431 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26434 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26435 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26438 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26442 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26443 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26446 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26449 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26450 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26451 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26454 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
26458 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26461 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26465 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26466 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26469 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26470 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26473 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26474 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26477 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26478 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26479 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26482 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26483 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26486 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26489 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26492 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26495 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26498 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26499 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26502 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26506 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26509 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26514 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
26517 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
26521 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26524 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26528 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26531 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26534 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26535 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26538 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26539 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26543 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26544 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26547 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26551 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26552 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26555 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26558 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26562 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26566 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26567 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26570 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26574 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26575 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26578 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26579 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26582 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26586 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26589 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26592 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26598 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26600 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26604 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26611 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26614 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26615 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26618 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26619 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26623 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26624 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26627 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26630 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26631 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26634 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26638 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26639 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26643 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26644 Server Internals}).
26647 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26651 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26654 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26655 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26658 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26659 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26660 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26663 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26664 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26667 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26668 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26671 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26675 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26676 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26679 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26680 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26683 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26687 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26690 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26694 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26695 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26698 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26699 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26702 A new command for reading collections of documents
26703 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26704 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26707 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26711 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26712 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26715 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26716 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26717 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26720 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26721 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26725 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26729 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26733 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26738 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26742 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26746 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26747 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26750 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26756 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26758 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26763 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26764 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26765 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26768 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26769 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26770 group, which is created automatically.
26773 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
26777 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
26780 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
26781 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
26784 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
26788 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
26791 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
26792 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
26795 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
26798 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
26802 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
26803 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
26806 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
26807 control over simplification.
26810 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
26813 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
26817 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
26820 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
26823 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
26824 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
26825 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
26828 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
26829 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
26832 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
26836 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
26837 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
26840 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
26841 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
26844 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
26848 A history of where mails have been split is available.
26851 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
26854 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
26855 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
26858 A new function for citing in Message has been
26859 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
26862 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
26865 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
26869 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
26870 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
26873 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
26874 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
26877 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
26880 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
26884 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
26885 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
26887 New features in Gnus 5.8:
26892 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
26893 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
26895 If you used procmail like in
26898 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
26899 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
26900 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
26901 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
26904 this now has changed to
26908 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
26912 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
26915 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
26916 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
26919 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
26920 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
26923 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
26924 called to position point.
26927 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
26928 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
26931 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
26932 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
26935 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
26936 subtly different manner.
26939 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
26940 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
26941 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
26944 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
26949 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
26952 New features in Gnus 5.10:
26956 @item Installation changes
26957 @c ***********************
26961 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
26963 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
26964 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
26965 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
26966 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
26967 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
26968 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
26969 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
26970 isn't save in general.
26973 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
26974 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
26975 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
26976 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
26977 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
26978 remove-installed-shadows}.
26981 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
26983 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
26984 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
26985 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
26986 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
26987 the second parameter.
26989 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
26990 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
26991 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
26992 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
26993 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
26994 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
26995 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
26996 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
26997 cycle used under Unix systems.
26999 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27000 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27003 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27005 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27006 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27009 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27010 @c CVS. We should find a better place for this item.
27012 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27014 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27015 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27016 lisp directory into load-path.
27018 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27019 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27023 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27024 @c *****************************************
27029 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27030 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27033 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27035 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27036 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
27037 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
27038 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
27041 Improved anti-spam features.
27043 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27044 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27045 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27046 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27047 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27048 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27051 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27053 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27054 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27055 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27056 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27057 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27061 @item Changes in group mode
27062 @c ************************
27067 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27071 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27073 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27074 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27077 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27079 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27080 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27081 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27082 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27083 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27086 (setq gnus-parameters
27088 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27089 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27090 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27091 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27095 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27097 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27098 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27099 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27100 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27101 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27102 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27103 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27104 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27105 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27108 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27110 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27111 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27112 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27115 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27116 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27118 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27119 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27120 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27122 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27127 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27128 @c **************************************
27133 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27134 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27135 region if the region is active.
27138 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27139 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27144 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27145 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27146 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27147 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27150 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27155 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27156 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27158 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27159 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27163 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27164 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27167 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27170 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27171 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27174 Warn about email replies to news
27176 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27177 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27181 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27182 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27186 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27187 opposed to old but unread messages).
27190 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27191 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27194 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27195 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27198 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27199 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27202 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27204 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27205 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27206 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27207 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27210 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27211 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27212 Outlook (Express) articles.
27215 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27217 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27218 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27219 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27220 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27222 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27223 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27224 message cited below.
27227 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27230 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27234 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27237 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27238 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27241 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27244 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27246 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27247 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27248 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27249 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27250 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27254 Deleting of attachments.
27256 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27257 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27258 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27259 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27260 that support editing.
27263 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27265 The default value is determined from the
27266 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27267 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27268 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27271 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27273 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27274 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27275 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27278 Extended format specs.
27280 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27281 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27282 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27283 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27284 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27285 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27288 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27289 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27291 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27292 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27293 out other articles.
27296 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27298 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27299 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27300 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27301 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27304 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27308 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
27309 @c ****************************************************
27316 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
27317 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
27318 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
27321 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
27322 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
27325 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
27326 Gcc articles as read.
27329 Externalizing of attachments
27331 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
27332 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
27333 local files as external parts.
27336 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
27337 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
27340 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
27342 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
27343 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
27344 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
27345 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
27346 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
27347 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
27348 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
27349 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
27350 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
27353 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
27355 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
27356 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
27357 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
27358 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
27359 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
27360 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
27363 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
27364 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
27368 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
27371 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
27373 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
27374 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
27375 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
27376 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
27377 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
27378 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
27379 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
27380 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
27381 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
27382 was inserted directly.
27385 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
27387 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
27388 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
27389 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
27390 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
27393 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
27395 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
27397 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
27398 'bbdb-complete-name)
27402 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27404 Add a new format of match like
27406 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27407 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27409 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27411 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27412 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27416 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27418 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27419 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27420 need add those two headers too.
27423 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27424 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27425 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27429 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27430 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27431 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
27432 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27433 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
27436 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27438 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27441 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27443 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27447 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27449 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27450 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27451 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27452 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27453 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27454 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27455 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27456 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27459 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27460 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27462 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27463 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27464 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27465 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27468 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27471 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27472 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27475 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
27478 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27479 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27480 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27481 invalidate the digital signature.
27484 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
27485 decompressed when activated.
27486 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
27489 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
27491 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
27492 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
27493 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
27494 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
27495 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
27498 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
27499 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
27500 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
27501 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11
27505 @item Changes in back ends
27506 @c ***********************
27510 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
27513 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
27516 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27518 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27521 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27523 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27524 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27525 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27526 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27527 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27528 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27529 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27530 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27531 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27532 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27533 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27543 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27544 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27547 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27548 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27549 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27550 message, Message Manual}).
27553 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
27554 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars. This is a new
27555 feature in Gnus 5.10.9. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
27557 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
27558 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
27559 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
27564 @item Miscellaneous changes
27565 @c ************************
27572 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
27573 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
27574 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
27575 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
27576 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
27577 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
27578 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
27579 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
27580 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
27581 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
27582 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
27583 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
27584 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
27585 is not needed any more.
27588 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27590 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27591 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27592 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27597 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
27598 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
27599 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
27603 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
27606 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
27608 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
27615 @subsubsection No Gnus
27618 New features in No Gnus:
27619 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27621 @include gnus-news.texi
27627 @section The Manual
27631 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27632 either @code{texi2dvi}
27634 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27635 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27637 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27639 The following conventions have been used:
27644 This is a @samp{string}
27647 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27650 This is a @file{file}
27653 This is a @code{symbol}
27657 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27661 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27664 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27667 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27670 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27671 ever get them confused.
27675 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27676 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27677 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27678 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27679 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27680 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27681 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27687 @node On Writing Manuals
27688 @section On Writing Manuals
27690 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27691 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27692 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27693 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27694 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27695 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
27698 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27699 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27700 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27703 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27704 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
27709 @section Terminology
27711 @cindex terminology
27716 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27717 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27718 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27719 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27720 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27724 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27725 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27726 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27727 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27731 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27735 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27740 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27741 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27742 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27743 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27744 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27745 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27746 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27747 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27748 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27751 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27752 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27753 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27754 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27755 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27756 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27758 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27759 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27760 access the articles.
27762 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
27763 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
27764 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
27769 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
27770 default, way of getting news.
27774 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
27775 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
27780 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
27781 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
27785 A message that has been posted as news.
27788 @cindex mail message
27789 A message that has been mailed.
27793 A mail message or news article
27797 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
27802 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
27807 A line from the head of an article.
27811 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
27812 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
27814 @item @acronym{NOV}
27815 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
27816 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
27817 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
27818 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
27819 normal @sc{head} format.
27823 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
27824 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
27825 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
27826 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
27827 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
27828 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
27830 @item killed groups
27831 @cindex killed groups
27832 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
27833 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
27835 @item zombie groups
27836 @cindex zombie groups
27837 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
27840 @cindex active file
27841 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
27842 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
27843 is rather large, as you might surmise.
27846 @cindex bogus groups
27847 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
27848 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
27849 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
27852 @cindex activating groups
27853 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
27854 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
27855 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
27859 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
27860 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
27861 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
27865 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
27867 @item select method
27868 @cindex select method
27869 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
27872 @item virtual server
27873 @cindex virtual server
27874 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
27875 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
27876 whole is a virtual server.
27880 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
27881 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
27884 @item ephemeral groups
27885 @cindex ephemeral groups
27886 @cindex temporary groups
27887 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
27888 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
27889 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
27892 @cindex solid groups
27893 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
27894 group buffer are solid groups.
27896 @item sparse articles
27897 @cindex sparse articles
27898 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
27899 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
27903 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
27904 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
27908 @cindex thread root
27909 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
27910 articles in the thread.
27914 An article that has responses.
27918 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
27922 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
27923 specified by RFC 1153.
27926 @cindex splitting, terminology
27927 @cindex mail sorting
27928 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
27929 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
27930 incorrectly called mail filtering.
27936 @node Customization
27937 @section Customization
27938 @cindex general customization
27940 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
27941 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
27942 for some quite common situations.
27945 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
27946 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
27947 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
27948 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
27952 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
27953 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
27955 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
27956 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
27957 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
27961 @item gnus-read-active-file
27962 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
27963 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
27964 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27965 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
27966 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
27968 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
27969 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
27970 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
27971 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
27975 @node Slow Terminal Connection
27976 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
27978 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
27979 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
27980 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
27984 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
27985 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
27986 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
27987 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
27988 horizontal and vertical recentering.
27990 @item gnus-visible-headers
27991 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
27992 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
27993 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
27994 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
27996 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
27998 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
27999 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28000 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28003 @item gnus-use-full-window
28004 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28005 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28006 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28007 want to read them anyway.
28009 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28010 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28014 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28015 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28016 lines, which might save some time.
28020 @node Little Disk Space
28021 @subsection Little Disk Space
28024 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28025 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28029 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28030 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28031 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28032 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28035 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28036 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28037 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28038 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28041 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28042 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28043 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28044 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28045 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28051 @subsection Slow Machine
28052 @cindex slow machine
28054 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28055 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28057 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28058 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28060 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28061 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28062 summary buffer faster.
28066 @node Troubleshooting
28067 @section Troubleshooting
28068 @cindex troubleshooting
28070 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28078 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28081 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28082 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28086 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28087 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.6} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
28088 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
28091 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28092 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28095 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28096 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28097 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28098 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28099 something like that.
28102 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28105 @cindex reporting bugs
28107 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28109 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28110 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28111 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28112 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28114 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28115 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28116 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28117 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28120 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28121 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28122 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28123 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28124 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28125 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28127 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28128 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28129 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28133 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28134 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28137 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28138 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28139 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28140 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28141 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28142 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28143 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28144 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28145 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28146 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28147 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28148 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28149 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28150 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28155 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28156 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28157 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28158 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28159 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28161 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28162 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28163 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28164 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28165 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28166 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28167 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28168 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28169 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28170 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28171 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28172 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28173 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28176 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28177 @cindex ding mailing list
28178 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28179 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28180 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28181 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28185 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28186 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28188 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28189 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28190 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28191 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28194 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28195 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28196 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28197 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28198 and general methods of operation.
28201 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28202 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28203 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28204 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28205 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28206 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28207 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28208 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28209 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28213 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28214 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28215 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28216 @cindex utility functions
28218 @cindex internal variables
28220 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28221 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28222 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28226 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28227 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28228 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28230 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28231 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28232 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28234 @item gnus-group-real-name
28235 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28236 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28239 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28240 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28241 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28242 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28244 @item gnus-get-info
28245 @findex gnus-get-info
28246 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28248 @item gnus-group-unread
28249 @findex gnus-group-unread
28250 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
28254 @findex gnus-active
28255 The active entry for @var{group}.
28257 @item gnus-set-active
28258 @findex gnus-set-active
28259 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
28261 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28262 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28263 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
28266 @item gnus-continuum-version
28267 @findex gnus-continuum-version
28268 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
28269 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
28272 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
28273 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
28274 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
28276 @item gnus-news-group-p
28277 @findex gnus-news-group-p
28278 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
28280 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28281 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28282 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
28284 @item gnus-server-to-method
28285 @findex gnus-server-to-method
28286 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
28288 @item gnus-server-equal
28289 @findex gnus-server-equal
28290 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
28292 @item gnus-group-native-p
28293 @findex gnus-group-native-p
28294 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
28296 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
28297 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
28298 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
28300 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
28301 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
28302 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
28304 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
28305 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
28306 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
28307 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
28309 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
28310 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
28311 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
28313 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
28314 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
28315 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
28317 @item gnus-check-backend-function
28318 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
28319 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
28320 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
28323 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
28327 @item gnus-read-method
28328 @findex gnus-read-method
28329 Prompts the user for a select method.
28334 @node Back End Interface
28335 @subsection Back End Interface
28337 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
28338 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
28339 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
28340 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
28341 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
28342 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
28344 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
28345 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
28346 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
28347 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
28348 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
28349 been opened, the function should fail.
28351 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
28352 name. Take this example:
28356 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
28357 (nntp-port-number 4324))
28360 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
28361 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
28363 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
28364 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
28365 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
28367 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
28368 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
28369 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
28371 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
28372 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
28373 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
28374 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
28375 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
28376 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
28379 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
28380 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
28381 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
28382 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
28385 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
28386 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
28387 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
28388 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
28389 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
28390 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
28391 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
28392 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
28393 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
28394 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
28396 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
28397 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
28398 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
28399 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
28400 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
28401 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
28402 of numbers as long as possible.
28404 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
28405 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
28406 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
28408 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
28411 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
28414 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
28415 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
28416 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
28417 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
28418 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
28419 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28423 @node Required Back End Functions
28424 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28428 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28430 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28431 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28432 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28433 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28435 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28436 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28437 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28438 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28440 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28441 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28442 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28443 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28444 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28445 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28446 number, do maximum fetches.
28448 Here's an example HEAD:
28451 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28452 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28453 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28454 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28455 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28456 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28457 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28459 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28460 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28461 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28465 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28466 these in the data buffer.
28468 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28472 head = error / valid-head
28473 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28474 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28475 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28476 header = <text> eol
28480 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28482 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28483 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28487 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28488 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28489 field = <text except TAB>
28492 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28496 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28498 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28499 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28501 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28502 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28503 server. In fact, it should do so.
28505 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28506 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28509 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28511 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28512 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28515 There should be no data returned.
28518 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28520 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28521 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28522 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28523 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28525 There should be no data returned.
28528 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28530 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28531 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28532 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28533 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28535 There should be no data returned.
28538 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28540 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28542 There should be no data returned.
28545 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28547 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28548 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28549 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28550 it would be nice if that were possible.
28552 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28553 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28554 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28555 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28556 into its article buffer.
28558 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28559 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28560 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28561 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28562 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28563 on successful article retrieval.
28566 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
28568 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28569 making @var{group} the current group.
28571 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28574 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28577 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28580 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28581 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28582 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28583 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28584 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28585 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28586 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28587 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28588 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28592 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28593 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28594 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28598 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28600 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28601 a no-op on most back ends.
28603 There should be no data returned.
28606 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28608 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28611 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28614 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28615 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28618 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28619 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28620 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28621 and the highest as 0.
28624 active-file = *active-line
28625 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28627 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28630 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28631 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28632 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28635 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28637 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28638 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28639 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28640 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28641 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28642 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28644 There should be no result data from this function.
28649 @node Optional Back End Functions
28650 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28654 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28656 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28657 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28658 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28660 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28661 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28662 former is in the same format as the data from
28663 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28664 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28667 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28671 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28673 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28674 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28675 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28676 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28677 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28678 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28679 the network resources).
28681 There should be no result data from this function.
28684 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28686 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28687 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28688 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28689 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28690 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28691 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28692 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28693 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28695 There should be no result data from this function.
28698 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28700 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28701 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28702 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28703 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28704 propagate the mark information to the server.
28706 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28709 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28712 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28713 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28714 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28715 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28716 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28717 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28718 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28719 possible, not limit itself to these.
28721 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
28722 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
28723 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
28724 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
28726 An example action list:
28729 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
28730 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
28731 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
28734 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
28735 mark on (currently not used for anything).
28737 There should be no result data from this function.
28739 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
28741 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
28742 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
28743 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
28744 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
28745 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
28747 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
28748 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
28749 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
28752 There should be no result data from this function.
28755 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
28757 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
28758 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
28759 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
28760 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
28761 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
28762 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
28763 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
28764 local if that's practical.
28766 There should be no result data from this function.
28769 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
28771 The result data from this function should be a description of
28775 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
28777 description = <text>
28780 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
28782 The result data from this function should be the description of all
28783 groups available on the server.
28786 description-buffer = *description-line
28790 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
28792 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
28793 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
28794 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
28795 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
28796 in the active buffer format.
28798 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
28799 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
28800 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
28801 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
28802 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
28803 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
28804 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
28807 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28809 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
28811 There should be no return data.
28814 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
28816 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
28817 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
28818 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
28819 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
28820 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
28823 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
28826 There should be no result data returned.
28829 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
28831 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
28832 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
28834 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
28835 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
28836 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
28837 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
28838 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
28839 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
28841 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
28842 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
28845 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28846 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28848 There should be no data returned.
28851 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
28853 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
28854 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
28855 this function in short order.
28857 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28858 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28860 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
28861 article for that group.
28863 There should be no data returned.
28866 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
28868 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
28869 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
28871 There should be no data returned.
28874 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
28876 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
28877 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
28878 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
28880 There should be no data returned.
28883 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
28885 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
28886 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
28888 There should be no data returned.
28893 @node Error Messaging
28894 @subsubsection Error Messaging
28896 @findex nnheader-report
28897 @findex nnheader-get-report
28898 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
28899 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
28900 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
28901 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
28902 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
28903 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
28906 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
28908 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
28911 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
28912 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
28913 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
28914 takes one argument---the server symbol.
28916 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
28917 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
28918 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
28921 @node Writing New Back Ends
28922 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
28924 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
28925 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
28926 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
28927 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
28928 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
28931 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
28932 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
28933 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
28935 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
28936 package called @code{nnoo}.
28938 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
28939 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
28945 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
28946 parameters. For instance:
28949 (nnoo-declare nndir
28953 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
28954 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
28957 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
28958 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
28959 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
28961 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
28962 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
28963 a function in those back ends.
28966 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28967 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28968 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28971 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
28972 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
28973 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
28975 @item nnoo-define-basics
28976 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
28980 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28984 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
28985 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
28986 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
28988 @item nnoo-map-functions
28989 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
28990 functions from the parent back ends.
28993 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28994 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28995 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
28998 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
28999 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29000 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29001 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29004 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29005 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29006 haven't already been defined.
29012 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29016 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29017 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29018 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29023 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29026 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29027 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29031 (require 'nnheader)
29035 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29037 (nnoo-declare nndir
29040 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29041 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29042 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29044 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29045 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29048 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29050 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29051 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29052 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29054 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29055 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29057 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29059 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29061 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29062 (setq nndir-directory
29063 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29065 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29066 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29067 (push `(nndir-current-group
29068 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29069 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29071 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29072 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29074 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29076 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29077 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29078 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29079 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29080 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29084 nnmh-status-message
29086 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29092 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29093 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29095 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29096 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29097 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29098 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29099 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29101 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29102 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29107 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29110 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29112 The abilities can be:
29116 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29118 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29120 This back end supports both mail and news.
29122 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29125 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29126 articles and groups.
29128 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29129 true for almost all back ends.
29130 @item prompt-address
29131 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29132 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29133 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29137 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29138 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29140 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29141 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29142 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29143 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29146 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29147 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29148 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29151 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29152 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29155 This function takes four parameters.
29159 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29162 @item exit-function
29163 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29165 @item temp-directory
29166 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29169 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29170 performed for one group only.
29173 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29174 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29175 find the article number assigned to this article.
29177 The function also uses the following variables:
29178 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29179 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29180 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29181 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29185 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29186 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29190 @node Score File Syntax
29191 @subsection Score File Syntax
29193 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29194 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29195 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29197 Here's a typical score file:
29201 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29208 BNF definition of a score file:
29211 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29212 element = rule / atom
29213 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29214 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29215 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29216 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29218 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29219 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29220 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29221 date-header = "date"
29222 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29223 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29224 score = "nil" / <integer>
29225 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29226 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29227 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29228 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29229 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29230 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29231 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29232 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29233 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29234 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29235 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29236 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29237 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29238 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29239 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29240 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29241 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29242 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29243 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29244 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29245 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29246 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29247 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29248 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29249 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29250 eval = "eval" space <form>
29251 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
29254 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
29257 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
29258 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
29259 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
29260 one looong line, then that's ok.
29262 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
29263 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
29267 @subsection Headers
29269 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
29270 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
29271 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
29272 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
29274 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
29275 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
29276 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
29277 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
29278 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
29279 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
29280 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
29282 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
29283 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
29284 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
29285 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
29286 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
29288 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
29289 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
29295 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
29296 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
29298 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
29299 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
29300 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
29301 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
29303 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
29307 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
29310 is transformed into
29313 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
29316 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
29317 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
29320 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
29323 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
29324 is slightly tricky:
29327 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
29333 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
29336 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
29342 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
29349 and is equal to the previous range.
29351 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
29352 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
29353 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
29357 range = simple-range / normal-range
29358 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
29359 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
29360 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
29361 number *[ " " contents ]
29364 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
29365 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
29366 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
29367 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
29368 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
29373 @subsection Group Info
29375 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
29376 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
29377 describes the group.
29379 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
29380 second is a more complex one:
29383 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
29385 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
29386 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
29388 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
29391 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
29392 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
29393 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
29394 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
29395 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
29396 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
29397 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
29398 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
29399 this section is about.
29401 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
29402 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
29403 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
29405 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
29408 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
29409 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
29410 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29411 group = quote <string> quote
29412 ralevel = rank / level
29413 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29414 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
29415 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29417 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
29418 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
29419 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
29420 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29423 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29424 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29427 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29428 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29431 @item gnus-info-group
29432 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29433 @findex gnus-info-group
29434 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29435 Get/set the group name.
29437 @item gnus-info-rank
29438 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29439 @findex gnus-info-rank
29440 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29441 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29443 @item gnus-info-level
29444 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29445 @findex gnus-info-level
29446 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29447 Get/set the group level.
29449 @item gnus-info-score
29450 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29451 @findex gnus-info-score
29452 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29453 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29455 @item gnus-info-read
29456 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29457 @findex gnus-info-read
29458 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29459 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29461 @item gnus-info-marks
29462 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29463 @findex gnus-info-marks
29464 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29465 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29467 @item gnus-info-method
29468 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29469 @findex gnus-info-method
29470 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29471 Get/set the group select method.
29473 @item gnus-info-params
29474 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29475 @findex gnus-info-params
29476 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29477 Get/set the group parameters.
29480 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29481 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29483 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29484 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29485 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29486 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29489 @node Extended Interactive
29490 @subsection Extended Interactive
29491 @cindex interactive
29492 @findex gnus-interactive
29494 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29495 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29496 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29499 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29500 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29505 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29506 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29507 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29508 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29509 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29510 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29511 @code{interactive}.
29513 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29518 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29519 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29523 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29524 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29525 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29528 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29532 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29536 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29542 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29543 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29547 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29548 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29549 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29551 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29552 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29553 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29554 Gnus, that's very useful.
29556 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29557 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29558 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29559 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29560 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29561 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29562 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29563 following function:
29566 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29570 (,function ,@@args))
29574 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29575 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29576 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29579 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29580 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29581 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29583 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29584 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29585 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29588 @node Various File Formats
29589 @subsection Various File Formats
29592 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29593 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29597 @node Active File Format
29598 @subsubsection Active File Format
29600 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29601 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29604 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29607 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29608 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29609 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29610 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29611 no.general 1000 900 y
29614 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29617 active = *group-line
29618 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29619 group = <non-white-space string>
29621 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29622 low-number = <positive integer>
29623 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29626 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29627 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29630 @node Newsgroups File Format
29631 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29633 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29634 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29635 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29638 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29639 Here's the definition:
29643 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29644 group = <non-white-space string>
29646 description = <string>
29651 @node Emacs for Heathens
29652 @section Emacs for Heathens
29654 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29655 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29656 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29657 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29658 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29659 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29660 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29664 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29665 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29670 @subsection Keystrokes
29674 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29677 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29680 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29681 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29682 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29683 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29684 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29685 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29687 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29688 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29689 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29690 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29691 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29692 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29693 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29695 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29696 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29697 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29698 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29699 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29700 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29701 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29703 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29704 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29705 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29706 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29707 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29713 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29715 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29716 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29717 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29718 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29720 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
29721 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
29722 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
29723 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
29724 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
29725 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
29726 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
29727 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
29728 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
29729 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
29731 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
29732 write the following:
29735 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
29738 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
29739 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
29740 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
29741 change how Gnus works.
29743 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
29744 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
29745 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
29746 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
29747 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
29749 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
29750 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
29751 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
29755 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
29759 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
29762 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
29763 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
29766 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
29769 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
29770 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
29773 @include gnus-faq.texi
29793 @c Local Variables:
29795 @c coding: iso-8859-1
29799 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819