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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 v0.4.
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. If you
1825 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1828 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1831 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1840 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1841 comment element in the group parameters.
1844 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1845 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1846 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1850 @samp{m} if moderated.
1853 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1859 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1865 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1869 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1872 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1873 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1874 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1875 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1876 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1879 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1881 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1885 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1888 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1892 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1893 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1894 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1895 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1898 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1899 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1900 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1901 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1902 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1903 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1908 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1909 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1910 group, or a bogus native group.
1913 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1914 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1915 @cindex group mode line
1917 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1918 The mode line can be changed by setting
1919 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1920 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1924 The native news server.
1926 The native select method.
1930 @node Group Highlighting
1931 @subsection Group Highlighting
1932 @cindex highlighting
1933 @cindex group highlighting
1935 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1936 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1937 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1938 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1939 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1941 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1945 (cond (window-system
1946 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1947 (defface my-group-face-1
1948 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1949 (defface my-group-face-2
1950 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1951 "Second group face")
1952 (defface my-group-face-3
1953 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1954 (defface my-group-face-4
1955 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1956 (defface my-group-face-5
1957 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1959 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1960 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1961 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1962 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1963 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1964 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1967 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1969 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1976 The number of unread articles in the group.
1980 Whether the group is a mail group.
1982 The level of the group.
1984 The score of the group.
1986 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1988 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1989 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1991 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1992 topic being inserted.
1995 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1996 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1997 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1999 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2000 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2001 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2002 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2003 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2006 @node Group Maneuvering
2007 @section Group Maneuvering
2008 @cindex group movement
2010 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2011 expected, hopefully.
2017 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2018 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2019 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2025 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2026 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2027 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2031 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2032 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2036 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2037 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2042 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2043 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2047 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2048 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2049 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2052 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2058 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2059 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2060 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2065 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2066 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2067 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2071 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2072 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2073 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2076 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2077 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2078 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2079 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2083 @node Selecting a Group
2084 @section Selecting a Group
2085 @cindex group selection
2090 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2091 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2092 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2093 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2094 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2095 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2096 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2097 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2098 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2099 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2101 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2102 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2103 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2105 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2106 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2111 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2112 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2113 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2114 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2115 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2119 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2120 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2121 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2122 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2123 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2124 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2125 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2126 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2127 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2128 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2131 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2132 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2133 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2134 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2135 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2138 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2139 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2140 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2141 doing any processing of its contents
2142 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2143 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2144 manner will have no permanent effects.
2148 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2149 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2150 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2151 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2152 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2153 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2154 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2155 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2156 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2157 most recently will be fetched.
2159 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2160 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2161 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2164 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2165 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2166 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2167 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2168 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2169 Which article this is is controlled by the
2170 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2176 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2179 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2182 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2184 @item unseen-or-unread
2185 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2186 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2190 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2194 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2195 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2197 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2198 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2199 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2200 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2204 @node Subscription Commands
2205 @section Subscription Commands
2206 @cindex subscription
2214 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2215 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2216 Toggle subscription to the current group
2217 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2223 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2224 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2225 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2226 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2232 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2233 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2234 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2240 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2241 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2244 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2245 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2246 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2247 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2248 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2254 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2255 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2259 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2260 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2263 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2264 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2265 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2266 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2267 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2268 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2269 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2270 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2271 @file{.newsrc} file.
2275 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2285 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2286 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2287 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2288 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2289 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2290 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2295 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2296 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2297 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2301 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2302 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2303 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2305 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2306 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2307 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2308 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2309 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2310 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2317 @section Group Levels
2321 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2322 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2323 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2324 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2325 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2327 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2333 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2334 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2335 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2336 prompted for a level.
2339 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2340 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2341 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2342 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2343 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2344 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2345 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2346 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2347 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2348 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2349 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2350 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2351 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2352 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2353 reasons of efficiency.
2355 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2356 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2358 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2359 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2360 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2361 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2362 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2363 groups are hidden, in a way.
2365 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2366 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2367 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2368 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2369 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2370 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2372 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2373 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2374 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2375 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2376 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2377 list of killed groups.)
2379 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2380 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2381 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2383 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2384 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2385 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2386 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2387 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2388 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2389 relevant valid ranges.
2391 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2392 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2393 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2394 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2395 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2396 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2399 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2400 one with the best level.
2402 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2403 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2404 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2407 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2408 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2409 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2410 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2413 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2414 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2415 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2416 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2418 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2419 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2420 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2421 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2422 to 5. The default is 6.
2426 @section Group Score
2431 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2432 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2433 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2436 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2437 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2438 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2439 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2440 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2441 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2442 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2443 least significant part.))
2445 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2446 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2447 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2448 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2449 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2450 action after each summary exit, you can add
2451 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2452 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2453 slow things down somewhat.
2456 @node Marking Groups
2457 @section Marking Groups
2458 @cindex marking groups
2460 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2461 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2462 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2463 bidding on those groups.
2465 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2466 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2467 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2475 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2476 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2482 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2483 Remove the mark from the current group
2484 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2489 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2493 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2494 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2499 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2504 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2505 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2508 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2510 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2511 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2512 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2513 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2514 the command to be executed.
2517 @node Foreign Groups
2518 @section Foreign Groups
2519 @cindex foreign groups
2521 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2522 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2523 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2524 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2527 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2528 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2529 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2535 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2536 @cindex making groups
2537 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2538 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2539 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2543 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2544 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2545 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2549 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2550 @cindex renaming groups
2551 Rename the current group to something else
2552 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2553 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2559 @findex gnus-group-customize
2560 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2564 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2565 @cindex renaming groups
2566 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2567 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2571 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2572 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2573 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2577 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2578 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2579 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2583 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2585 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2586 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2591 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2592 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2596 @cindex (ding) archive
2597 @cindex archive group
2598 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2599 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2600 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2601 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2602 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2603 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2604 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2608 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2610 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2611 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2612 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2613 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2617 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2619 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2620 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2621 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2625 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2626 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2628 Make a group based on some file or other
2629 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2630 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2631 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2632 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2633 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2634 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2635 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2636 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2637 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2641 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2642 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2643 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2644 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2648 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2652 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2653 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2654 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2655 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2656 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2657 @xref{Web Searches}.
2659 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2660 to a particular group by using a match string like
2661 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2665 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2666 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2667 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2671 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2672 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2673 This function will delete the current group
2674 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2675 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2676 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2677 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2678 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2682 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2683 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2684 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2688 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2689 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2690 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2693 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2696 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2697 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2698 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2699 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2700 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2701 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2705 @node Group Parameters
2706 @section Group Parameters
2707 @cindex group parameters
2709 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2710 Here's an example group parameter list:
2713 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2717 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2718 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2719 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2720 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2722 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2723 is an alist of regexps and values.
2725 The following group parameters can be used:
2730 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2733 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2736 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2737 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2738 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2739 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2740 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2742 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2743 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2744 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2745 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2746 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2747 list address instead.
2749 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2753 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2756 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2759 It is totally ignored
2760 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2761 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2763 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2764 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2765 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2766 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2767 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2769 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2770 @cindex mail list groups
2771 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2772 entering summary buffer.
2774 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2779 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2780 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2781 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2782 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2783 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2784 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2785 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2786 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2789 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2790 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2793 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2794 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2798 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2799 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2800 of whether it has any unread articles.
2802 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2803 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2805 @item broken-reply-to
2806 @cindex broken-reply-to
2807 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2808 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2809 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2810 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2811 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2812 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2816 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2817 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2821 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2822 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2823 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2828 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2829 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2830 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2831 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2832 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2833 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2834 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2836 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2837 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2838 doesn't accept articles.
2842 @cindex expiring mail
2843 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2844 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2845 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2847 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2850 @cindex total-expire
2851 @cindex expiring mail
2852 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2853 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2854 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2855 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2858 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2862 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2863 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2864 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2865 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2866 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2867 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2868 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2871 @cindex expiry-target
2872 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2873 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2876 @cindex score file group parameter
2877 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2878 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2879 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2882 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2883 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2884 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2885 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2888 @cindex admin-address
2889 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2890 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2891 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2892 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2896 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2897 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2901 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2904 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2905 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2908 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2912 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2914 Here are some examples:
2918 Display only unread articles.
2921 Display everything except expirable articles.
2923 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2924 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2928 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2929 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2930 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2931 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2932 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2936 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2937 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2938 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2942 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2943 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2944 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2948 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2949 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2950 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2952 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2954 @item ignored-charsets
2955 @cindex ignored-charset
2956 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2957 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2958 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2960 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2963 @cindex posting-style
2964 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2965 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2966 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2967 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2968 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2970 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2971 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2972 like this in the group parameters:
2977 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2978 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2983 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2984 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2988 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2989 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2990 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2991 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2992 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2996 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2997 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2998 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2999 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3001 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3002 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3003 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3004 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3007 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3008 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3012 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3013 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3014 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3015 like the following is generated:
3018 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3019 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3023 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3024 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3026 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3027 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3029 @item (agent parameters)
3030 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3031 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3032 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3033 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3034 minimize the configuration effort.
3036 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3037 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3038 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3039 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3040 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3041 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3042 @code{eval}ed there.
3044 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3045 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3046 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3047 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3048 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3049 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3050 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3051 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3054 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3057 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3058 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3059 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3062 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3065 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3066 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3067 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3068 into the group parameters for the group.
3070 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3071 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3072 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3073 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3076 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3077 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3078 following is added to a group parameter
3081 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3082 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3085 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3090 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3091 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3092 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3093 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3094 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3096 @vindex gnus-parameters
3097 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3098 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3099 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3103 (setq gnus-parameters
3105 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3106 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3107 (gnus-summary-line-format
3108 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3112 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3116 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3120 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3123 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3124 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3126 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3127 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3128 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3129 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3130 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3131 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3132 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3133 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3134 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3135 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3136 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3137 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3139 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3140 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3141 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3142 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3143 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3144 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3145 weekly news RSS feed
3146 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3152 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3153 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3154 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3155 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3156 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3158 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3159 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3160 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3161 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3162 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3163 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3167 @node Listing Groups
3168 @section Listing Groups
3169 @cindex group listing
3171 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3179 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3180 List all groups that have unread articles
3181 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3182 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3183 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3184 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3191 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3192 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3193 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3194 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3195 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3196 unsubscribed groups).
3200 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3201 List all unread groups on a specific level
3202 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3203 with no unread articles.
3207 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3208 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3209 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3210 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3215 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3216 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3220 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3221 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3222 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3226 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3227 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3231 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3232 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3233 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3234 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3235 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3236 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3237 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3238 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3242 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3243 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3244 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3248 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3249 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3250 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3254 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3255 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3259 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3260 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3264 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3265 List groups limited within the current selection
3266 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3270 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3271 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3275 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3276 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3280 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3281 @cindex visible group parameter
3282 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3283 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3284 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3285 get the same effect.
3287 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3288 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3289 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3290 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3291 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3294 @node Sorting Groups
3295 @section Sorting Groups
3296 @cindex sorting groups
3298 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3299 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3300 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3301 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3302 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3303 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3308 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3309 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3310 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3312 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3313 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3314 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3316 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3317 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3318 Sort by group level.
3320 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3321 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3322 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3324 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3325 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3326 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3327 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3329 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3330 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3331 Sort by number of unread articles.
3333 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3334 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3335 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3337 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3338 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3339 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3344 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3345 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3349 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3350 some sorting criteria:
3354 @kindex G S a (Group)
3355 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3356 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3357 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3360 @kindex G S u (Group)
3361 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3362 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3363 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3366 @kindex G S l (Group)
3367 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3368 Sort the group buffer by group level
3369 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3372 @kindex G S v (Group)
3373 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3374 Sort the group buffer by group score
3375 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3378 @kindex G S r (Group)
3379 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3380 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3381 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3384 @kindex G S m (Group)
3385 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3386 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3387 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3390 @kindex G S n (Group)
3391 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3392 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3393 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3397 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3398 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3400 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3401 commands will sort in reverse order.
3403 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3407 @kindex G P a (Group)
3408 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3409 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3410 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3413 @kindex G P u (Group)
3414 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3415 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3416 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3419 @kindex G P l (Group)
3420 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3421 Sort the groups by group level
3422 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3425 @kindex G P v (Group)
3426 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3427 Sort the groups by group score
3428 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3431 @kindex G P r (Group)
3432 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3433 Sort the groups by group rank
3434 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3437 @kindex G P m (Group)
3438 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3439 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3440 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3443 @kindex G P n (Group)
3444 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3445 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3446 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3449 @kindex G P s (Group)
3450 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3451 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3455 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3459 @node Group Maintenance
3460 @section Group Maintenance
3461 @cindex bogus groups
3466 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3467 Find bogus groups and delete them
3468 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3472 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3473 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3474 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3475 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3476 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3480 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3481 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3482 @cindex expiring mail
3483 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3484 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3485 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3486 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3489 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3490 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3491 @cindex expiring mail
3492 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3493 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3498 @node Browse Foreign Server
3499 @section Browse Foreign Server
3500 @cindex foreign servers
3501 @cindex browsing servers
3506 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3507 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3508 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3509 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3512 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3513 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3514 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3515 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3517 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3522 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3523 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3527 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3528 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3531 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3532 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3533 Enter the current group and display the first article
3534 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3537 @kindex RET (Browse)
3538 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3539 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3543 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3544 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3545 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3551 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3552 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3556 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3557 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3561 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3562 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3563 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3568 @section Exiting Gnus
3569 @cindex exiting Gnus
3571 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3576 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3577 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3578 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3579 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3583 @findex gnus-group-exit
3584 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3585 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3589 @findex gnus-group-quit
3590 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3591 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3594 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3595 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3596 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3597 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3598 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3599 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3605 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3606 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3607 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3613 @section Group Topics
3616 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3617 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3618 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3619 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3620 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3621 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3625 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3626 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3637 2: alt.religion.emacs
3640 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3642 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3643 13: comp.sources.unix
3646 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3648 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3649 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3650 is a toggling command.)
3652 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3653 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3654 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3655 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3658 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3659 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3660 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3663 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3667 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3668 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3669 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3670 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3671 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3675 @node Topic Commands
3676 @subsection Topic Commands
3677 @cindex topic commands
3679 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3680 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3681 definitions slightly.
3683 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3684 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3685 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3686 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3687 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3688 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3690 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3697 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3698 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3699 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3703 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3705 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3706 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3707 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3708 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3711 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3712 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3713 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3714 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3718 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3719 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3720 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3721 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3727 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3728 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3729 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3733 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3734 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3735 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3738 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3739 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3740 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3741 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3742 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3744 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3745 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3749 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3750 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3757 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3759 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3760 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3761 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3762 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3763 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3764 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3768 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3774 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3775 Move the current group to some other topic
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3777 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3781 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3782 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3786 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3787 Copy the current group to some other topic
3788 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3789 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3793 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3794 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3795 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3799 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3800 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3801 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3805 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3806 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3807 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3808 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3809 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3810 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3811 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3814 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3815 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3819 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3820 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3821 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3825 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3826 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3827 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3831 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3832 Toggle hiding empty topics
3833 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3837 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3838 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3839 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3840 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3843 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3844 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3845 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3846 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3847 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3850 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3851 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3852 @cindex expiring mail
3853 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3854 expiry process (if any)
3855 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3859 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3860 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3863 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3864 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3865 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3869 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3870 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3871 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3874 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3875 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3876 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3879 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3880 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3881 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3885 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3886 @cindex group parameters
3887 @cindex topic parameters
3889 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3890 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3895 @node Topic Variables
3896 @subsection Topic Variables
3897 @cindex topic variables
3899 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3900 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3902 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3903 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3904 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3917 Number of groups in the topic.
3919 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3921 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3924 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3925 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3926 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3929 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3930 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3932 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3933 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3934 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3938 @subsection Topic Sorting
3939 @cindex topic sorting
3941 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3947 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3948 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3949 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3950 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3953 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3954 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3955 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3956 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3959 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3960 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3961 Sort the current topic by group level
3962 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3965 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3966 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3967 Sort the current topic by group score
3968 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3971 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3972 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3973 Sort the current topic by group rank
3974 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3977 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3978 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3979 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3980 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3983 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3984 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3985 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3986 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3989 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3990 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3991 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3992 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3993 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3997 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3998 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4002 @node Topic Topology
4003 @subsection Topic Topology
4004 @cindex topic topology
4007 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4014 2: alt.religion.emacs
4017 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4019 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4020 13: comp.sources.unix
4024 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4025 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4026 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4031 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4032 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4036 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4037 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4038 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4039 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4040 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4041 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4043 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4044 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4045 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4048 @node Topic Parameters
4049 @subsection Topic Parameters
4050 @cindex topic parameters
4052 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4053 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4054 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4055 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4056 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4058 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4063 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4064 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4065 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4068 @item subscribe-level
4069 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4070 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4071 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4075 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4076 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4077 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4078 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4085 2: alt.religion.emacs
4089 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4091 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4092 13: comp.sources.unix
4097 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4098 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4099 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4100 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4101 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4102 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4104 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4105 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4106 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4107 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4108 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4110 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4111 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4112 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4113 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4114 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4115 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4116 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4117 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4120 @node Misc Group Stuff
4121 @section Misc Group Stuff
4124 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4125 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4126 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4127 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4128 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4135 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4136 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
4137 function or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4140 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4143 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4146 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4147 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4151 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4152 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4153 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4157 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4158 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4159 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4160 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4161 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4162 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4163 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4167 @findex gnus-group-mail
4168 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4169 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4170 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4171 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4175 @findex gnus-group-news
4176 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4177 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4178 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4180 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4181 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4182 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4183 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4184 for this to work though.
4188 Variables for the group buffer:
4192 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4193 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4194 is called after the group buffer has been
4197 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4198 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4199 is called after the group buffer is
4200 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4203 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4204 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4205 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4206 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4208 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4209 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4210 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4211 whether they are empty or not.
4213 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4214 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4215 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4216 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4220 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4221 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4224 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4225 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4226 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4227 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4228 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4229 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4230 default is @code{nil}.
4234 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4235 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4240 @node Scanning New Messages
4241 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4242 @cindex new messages
4243 @cindex scanning new news
4249 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4250 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4251 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4252 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4253 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4254 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4259 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4260 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4261 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4262 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4263 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4264 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4265 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4267 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4268 @cindex activating groups
4270 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4271 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4276 @findex gnus-group-restart
4277 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4278 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4279 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4283 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4284 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4286 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4287 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4291 @node Group Information
4292 @subsection Group Information
4293 @cindex group information
4294 @cindex information on groups
4301 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4302 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4305 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4306 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4307 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4308 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4309 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4310 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4311 used for fetching the file.
4313 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4314 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4318 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4319 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4321 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4322 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4325 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4326 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4327 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4331 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4332 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4333 @cindex control message
4334 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4335 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4336 group if given a prefix argument.
4338 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4339 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4340 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4341 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4343 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4344 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4345 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4349 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4351 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4352 @cindex describing groups
4353 @cindex group description
4354 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4355 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4356 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4360 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4361 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4362 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4369 @findex gnus-version
4370 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4374 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4375 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4378 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4381 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4382 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4386 @node Group Timestamp
4387 @subsection Group Timestamp
4389 @cindex group timestamps
4391 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4392 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4393 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4396 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4399 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4401 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4402 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4405 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4406 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4409 This will result in lines looking like:
4412 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4413 0: custom 19961002T012713
4416 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4417 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4421 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4422 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4425 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4426 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4430 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4431 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4432 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4433 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4435 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4441 @subsection File Commands
4442 @cindex file commands
4448 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4449 @vindex gnus-init-file
4450 @cindex reading init file
4451 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4452 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4456 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4457 @cindex saving .newsrc
4458 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4459 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4460 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4463 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4464 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4465 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4470 @node Sieve Commands
4471 @subsection Sieve Commands
4472 @cindex group sieve commands
4474 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4475 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4476 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4477 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4478 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4480 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4481 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4482 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4483 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4484 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4485 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4486 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4487 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4488 regenerate the Sieve script.
4490 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4491 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4492 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4493 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4494 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4495 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4496 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4497 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4498 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4499 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4502 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4503 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4508 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4514 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4515 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4516 @cindex generating sieve script
4517 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4518 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4522 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4523 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4524 @cindex updating sieve script
4525 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4526 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4527 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4532 @node Summary Buffer
4533 @chapter Summary Buffer
4534 @cindex summary buffer
4536 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4537 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4539 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4540 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4542 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4544 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4545 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4549 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4550 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
4551 function or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4553 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4557 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4558 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4559 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4560 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4561 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4562 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4563 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4564 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4565 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4566 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4567 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4568 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4569 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4570 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4571 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4572 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4573 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4574 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4575 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4576 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4577 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4578 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4579 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4580 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4581 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4582 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4583 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4584 or reselecting the current group.
4585 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4586 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4587 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4588 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4592 @node Summary Buffer Format
4593 @section Summary Buffer Format
4594 @cindex summary buffer format
4598 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4599 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4600 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4606 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4607 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4608 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4609 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4612 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4613 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4614 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4615 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4616 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4617 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4618 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4619 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4620 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4621 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4622 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4625 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4626 'mail-extract-address-components)
4629 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4630 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4631 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4632 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4635 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4636 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4638 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4639 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4640 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4641 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4642 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4644 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4645 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4646 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4647 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4648 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4649 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4651 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4653 The following format specification characters and extended format
4654 specification(s) are understood:
4660 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4661 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4663 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4664 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4665 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4667 Full @code{From} header.
4669 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4671 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4674 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4675 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4676 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4677 may be more thorough.
4679 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4682 Number of lines in the article.
4684 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4685 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4687 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4688 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4690 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4692 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4693 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4706 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4707 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4708 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4709 line-drawing glyphs.
4711 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4712 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4713 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4714 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4716 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4717 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4718 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4719 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4721 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4722 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4723 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4724 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4726 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4727 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4728 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4730 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4731 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4732 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4734 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4735 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4736 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4738 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4739 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4740 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4745 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4746 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4748 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4749 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4751 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4752 for adopted articles.
4754 One space for each thread level.
4756 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4758 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4761 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4762 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4763 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4766 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4768 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4769 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4770 default level. If the difference between
4771 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4772 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4780 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4782 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4788 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4789 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4791 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4792 article has any children.
4798 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4800 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4801 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4803 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4804 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4805 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4806 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4807 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4808 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4811 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4812 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4813 There can only be one such area.
4815 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4816 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4817 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4818 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4819 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4820 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4822 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4823 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4825 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4828 @node To From Newsgroups
4829 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4833 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4834 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4835 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4836 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4837 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4841 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4842 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4843 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4847 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4848 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4851 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4852 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4855 @findex gnus-extra-header
4856 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4857 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4858 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4861 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4865 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4866 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4867 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4868 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4869 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4870 headers are used instead.
4872 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4873 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4874 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4875 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4876 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4877 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4881 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4882 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4883 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4884 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4885 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4886 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4889 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4890 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4891 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4892 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4894 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4898 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4900 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4901 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4902 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4903 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4907 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4910 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4911 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4914 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4915 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4916 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4922 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4923 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4926 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4927 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4929 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4930 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4931 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4932 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4934 Here are the elements you can play with:
4940 Unprefixed group name.
4942 Current article number.
4944 Current article score.
4948 Number of unread articles in this group.
4950 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4953 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4954 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4955 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4956 and no unselected ones.
4958 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4959 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4961 Subject of the current article.
4963 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4965 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4967 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4969 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4971 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4973 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4977 @node Summary Highlighting
4978 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4982 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4983 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4984 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4985 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4986 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4988 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4989 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4990 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4991 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4993 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4994 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4995 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4996 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4998 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4999 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5000 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5001 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5002 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5003 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5006 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5007 ((> score default) . bold))
5009 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5010 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5014 @node Summary Maneuvering
5015 @section Summary Maneuvering
5016 @cindex summary movement
5018 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5019 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5021 None of these commands select articles.
5026 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5027 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5029 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5030 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5034 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5035 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5036 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5037 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5038 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5041 @kindex G g (Summary)
5042 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5043 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5044 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5047 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5048 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5049 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5050 to the group buffer.
5052 Variables related to summary movement:
5056 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5057 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5058 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5059 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5060 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5061 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5062 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5063 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5064 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5065 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5066 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5067 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5068 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5069 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5071 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5072 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5073 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5074 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5075 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5076 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5077 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5079 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5081 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5082 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5083 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5084 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5085 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5087 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5088 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5089 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5090 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5091 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5092 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5093 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5094 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5097 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5098 the given number of lines from the top.
5103 @node Choosing Articles
5104 @section Choosing Articles
5105 @cindex selecting articles
5108 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5109 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5113 @node Choosing Commands
5114 @subsection Choosing Commands
5116 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5117 and they all select and display an article.
5119 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5120 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5124 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5125 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5126 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5127 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5129 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5130 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5131 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5136 @kindex G n (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5138 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5139 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5144 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5145 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5146 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5151 @kindex G N (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5153 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5158 @kindex G P (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5160 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5163 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5164 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5165 Go to the next article with the same subject
5166 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5169 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5170 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5171 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5172 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5176 @kindex G f (Summary)
5178 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5179 Go to the first unread article
5180 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5184 @kindex G b (Summary)
5186 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5187 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5188 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5189 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5194 @kindex G l (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5196 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5199 @kindex G o (Summary)
5200 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5202 @cindex article history
5203 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5204 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5205 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5206 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5207 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5208 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5213 @kindex G j (Summary)
5214 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5215 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5216 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5221 @node Choosing Variables
5222 @subsection Choosing Variables
5224 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5227 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5228 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5229 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5230 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5231 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5232 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5234 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5235 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5236 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5237 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5238 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5241 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5242 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5243 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5244 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5245 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5246 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5247 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5248 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5249 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5250 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5251 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5252 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5253 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5254 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5259 @node Paging the Article
5260 @section Scrolling the Article
5261 @cindex article scrolling
5266 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5268 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5269 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5270 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5272 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5273 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5274 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5275 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5276 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5277 what is considered uninteresting with
5278 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5279 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5282 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5284 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5287 @kindex RET (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5289 Scroll the current article one line forward
5290 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5293 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5294 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5295 Scroll the current article one line backward
5296 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5300 @kindex A g (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5303 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5304 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5305 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5306 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5307 the way it came from the server.
5309 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5310 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5311 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5314 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5319 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5324 @kindex A < (Summary)
5325 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5326 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5327 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5332 @kindex A > (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5334 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5338 @kindex A s (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5341 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5342 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5346 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5347 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5352 @node Reply Followup and Post
5353 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5356 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5357 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5358 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5359 * Canceling and Superseding::
5363 @node Summary Mail Commands
5364 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5366 @cindex composing mail
5368 Commands for composing a mail message:
5374 @kindex S r (Summary)
5376 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5377 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5378 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5379 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5380 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5385 @kindex S R (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5388 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5389 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5390 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5393 @kindex S w (Summary)
5394 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5395 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5396 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5397 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5398 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5399 present, that's used instead.
5402 @kindex S W (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5404 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5405 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5406 the process/prefix convention.
5409 @kindex S v (Summary)
5410 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5411 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5412 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5413 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5414 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5415 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5418 @kindex S V (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5420 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5421 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5422 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5425 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5426 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5427 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5428 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5429 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5430 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5431 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5432 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5435 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5436 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5437 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5438 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5439 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5443 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5444 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5446 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5447 Forward the current article to some other person
5448 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5449 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5450 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5451 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5452 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5453 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5454 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5455 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5456 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5462 @kindex S m (Summary)
5463 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5464 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5465 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5466 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5467 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5472 @kindex S i (Summary)
5473 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5474 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5475 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5476 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5478 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5479 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5480 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5481 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5482 for this to work though.
5485 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5486 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5487 @cindex bouncing mail
5488 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5489 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5490 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5491 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5492 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5493 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5494 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5495 very well fail, though.
5498 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5499 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5500 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5501 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5502 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5503 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5504 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5505 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5506 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5507 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5509 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5510 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5511 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5512 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5513 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5515 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5516 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5519 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5520 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5522 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5523 if it were a new message before resending.
5526 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5527 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5528 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5529 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5530 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5533 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5534 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5535 @cindex crossposting
5536 @cindex excessive crossposting
5537 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5538 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5540 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5541 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5542 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5543 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5544 command understands the process/prefix convention
5545 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5549 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5550 Manual}, for more information.
5553 @node Summary Post Commands
5554 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5556 @cindex composing news
5558 Commands for posting a news article:
5564 @kindex S p (Summary)
5565 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5566 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5567 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5568 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5569 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5574 @kindex S f (Summary)
5575 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5576 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5577 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5581 @kindex S F (Summary)
5583 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5584 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5585 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5586 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5587 process/prefix convention.
5590 @kindex S n (Summary)
5591 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5592 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5593 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5596 @kindex S N (Summary)
5597 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5598 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5599 message through mail and include the original message
5600 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5601 the process/prefix convention.
5604 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5605 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5606 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5607 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5608 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5609 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5610 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5611 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5612 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5613 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5614 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5615 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5616 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5619 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5620 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5622 @cindex making digests
5623 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5624 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5625 process/prefix convention.
5628 @kindex S u (Summary)
5629 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5630 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5631 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5632 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5635 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5636 Manual}, for more information.
5639 @node Summary Message Commands
5640 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5644 @kindex S y (Summary)
5645 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5646 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5647 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5648 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5649 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5654 @node Canceling and Superseding
5655 @subsection Canceling Articles
5656 @cindex canceling articles
5657 @cindex superseding articles
5659 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5660 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5662 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5664 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5666 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5667 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5668 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5669 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5670 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5671 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5673 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5674 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5677 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5678 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5679 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5681 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5682 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5683 message, Message Manual}).
5685 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5686 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5687 your original article.
5689 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5691 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5692 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5693 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5696 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5697 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5698 have posted almost the same article twice.
5700 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5701 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5702 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5703 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5704 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5705 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5706 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5707 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5708 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5709 canceled/superseded.
5711 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5713 @node Delayed Articles
5714 @section Delayed Articles
5715 @cindex delayed sending
5716 @cindex send delayed
5718 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5719 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5720 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5721 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5724 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5727 @findex gnus-delay-article
5728 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5729 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5730 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5731 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5735 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5736 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5737 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5738 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5741 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5742 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5743 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5746 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5747 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5748 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5749 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5750 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5751 that means a time tomorrow.
5754 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5755 couple of variables:
5758 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5759 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5760 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5761 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5763 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5764 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5765 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5766 formats described above.
5768 @item gnus-delay-group
5769 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5770 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5771 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5772 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5774 @item gnus-delay-header
5775 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5776 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5777 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5778 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5781 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5782 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5783 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5784 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5785 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5787 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5788 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5789 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5790 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5791 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5792 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5793 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5796 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5797 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5798 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5799 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5800 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5801 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5802 argument is ignored.
5804 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5805 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5806 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5810 @node Marking Articles
5811 @section Marking Articles
5812 @cindex article marking
5813 @cindex article ticking
5816 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5818 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5819 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5820 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5822 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5825 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5829 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5830 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5831 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5832 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5833 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5834 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5838 @node Unread Articles
5839 @subsection Unread Articles
5841 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5846 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5847 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5849 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5850 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5851 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5852 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5853 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5854 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5855 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5858 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5859 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5861 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5862 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5863 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5864 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5868 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5869 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5871 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5876 @subsection Read Articles
5877 @cindex expirable mark
5879 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5884 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5885 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5886 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5889 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5890 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5893 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5894 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5895 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5898 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5899 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5902 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5903 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5906 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5907 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5910 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5911 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5914 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5915 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5918 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5919 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5922 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5923 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5927 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5928 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5929 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5933 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5934 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5936 One more special mark, though:
5940 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5941 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5943 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5944 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5945 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5946 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5952 @subsection Other Marks
5953 @cindex process mark
5956 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5962 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5963 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5964 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5965 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5966 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5969 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5970 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5971 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5972 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5975 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5976 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5977 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5980 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5981 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5982 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5985 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5986 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5987 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5988 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5991 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5992 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5993 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5994 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5995 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5996 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5999 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6000 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6001 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6002 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6005 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6006 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6007 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6008 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6009 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6013 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6014 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6015 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6016 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6017 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6018 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6021 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6022 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6023 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6024 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6025 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6026 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6030 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6031 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6032 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6033 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6034 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6037 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6038 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6039 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6040 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6041 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6042 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6046 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6047 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6048 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6050 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6051 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6052 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6056 @subsection Setting Marks
6057 @cindex setting marks
6059 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6064 @kindex M c (Summary)
6065 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6066 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6067 @cindex mark as unread
6068 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6069 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6075 @kindex M t (Summary)
6076 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6077 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6078 @xref{Article Caching}.
6083 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6085 Mark the current article as dormant
6086 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6090 @kindex M d (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6093 Mark the current article as read
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6098 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6099 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6100 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6105 @kindex M k (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6107 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6108 and then select the next unread article
6109 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6113 @kindex M K (Summary)
6114 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6115 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6116 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6117 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6120 @kindex M C (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6122 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6123 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6126 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6128 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6129 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6132 @kindex M H (Summary)
6133 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6134 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6135 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6138 @kindex M h (Summary)
6139 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6140 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6144 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6145 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6146 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6147 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6150 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6152 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6153 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6157 @kindex M e (Summary)
6159 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6160 Mark the current article as expirable
6161 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6164 @kindex M b (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6166 Set a bookmark in the current article
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6170 @kindex M B (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6172 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6173 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6176 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6178 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6179 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6182 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6184 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6185 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6188 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6189 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6190 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6191 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6192 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6195 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6196 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6197 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6198 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6199 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6200 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6201 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6202 The default is @code{t}.
6205 @node Generic Marking Commands
6206 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6208 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6209 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6210 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6211 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6212 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6215 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6216 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6219 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6220 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6221 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6222 to list in this manual.
6224 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6225 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6226 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6227 article, you could say something like:
6231 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6232 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6233 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6241 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6242 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6246 @node Setting Process Marks
6247 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6248 @cindex setting process marks
6250 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6251 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6252 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6253 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6254 commands into the cache. For more information,
6255 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6262 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6264 Mark the current article with the process mark
6265 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6266 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6270 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6271 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6272 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6273 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6276 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6277 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6278 Remove the process mark from all articles
6279 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6282 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6284 Invert the list of process marked articles
6285 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6288 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6290 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6291 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6294 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6296 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6297 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6300 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6302 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6305 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6306 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6307 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6310 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6311 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6312 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6313 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6316 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6317 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6318 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6319 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6322 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6323 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6324 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6325 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6328 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6329 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6330 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6333 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6335 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6336 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6339 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6341 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6344 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6345 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6346 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6347 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6350 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6352 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6353 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6356 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6358 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6359 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6362 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6364 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6365 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6369 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6370 set process marks based on article body contents.
6377 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6378 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6379 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6382 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6383 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6384 additional articles.
6390 @kindex / / (Summary)
6391 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6392 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6393 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6397 @kindex / a (Summary)
6398 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6399 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6400 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6404 @kindex / R (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6406 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6407 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6411 @kindex / S (Summary)
6412 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6413 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6414 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6415 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6418 @kindex / x (Summary)
6419 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6420 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6421 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6422 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6427 @kindex / u (Summary)
6429 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6430 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6431 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6432 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6433 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6436 @kindex / m (Summary)
6437 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6438 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6439 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6442 @kindex / t (Summary)
6443 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6444 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6445 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6446 articles younger than that number of days.
6449 @kindex / n (Summary)
6450 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6451 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6452 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6453 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6456 @kindex / w (Summary)
6457 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6458 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6459 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6463 @kindex / . (Summary)
6464 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6465 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6466 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6469 @kindex / v (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6471 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6472 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6475 @kindex / p (Summary)
6476 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6477 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6478 group parameter predicate
6479 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6480 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6483 @kindex / r (Summary)
6484 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6485 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6486 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6491 @kindex M S (Summary)
6492 @kindex / E (Summary)
6493 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6494 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6495 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6498 @kindex / D (Summary)
6499 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6500 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6501 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6504 @kindex / * (Summary)
6505 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6506 Include all cached articles in the limit
6507 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6510 @kindex / d (Summary)
6511 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6512 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6513 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6516 @kindex / M (Summary)
6517 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6518 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6521 @kindex / T (Summary)
6522 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6523 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6526 @kindex / c (Summary)
6527 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6528 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6529 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6532 @kindex / C (Summary)
6533 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6534 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6535 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6536 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6539 @kindex / N (Summary)
6540 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6541 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6542 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6545 @kindex / o (Summary)
6546 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6547 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6548 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6551 @kindex / b (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6553 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6554 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6555 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6556 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6559 @kindex / h (Summary)
6560 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6561 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6562 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6570 @cindex article threading
6572 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6573 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6574 hierarchical fashion.
6576 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6577 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6578 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6579 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6580 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6581 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6582 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6584 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6588 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6591 A tree-like article structure.
6594 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6597 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6598 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6599 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6600 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6601 called loose threads.
6603 @item thread gathering
6604 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6606 @item sparse threads
6607 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6608 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6614 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6615 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6619 @node Customizing Threading
6620 @subsection Customizing Threading
6621 @cindex customizing threading
6624 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6625 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6626 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6627 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6632 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6635 @cindex loose threads
6638 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6639 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6640 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6641 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6642 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6643 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6645 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6646 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6647 There are four possible values:
6651 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6652 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6653 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6654 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6655 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6660 @cindex adopting articles
6665 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6666 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6667 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6668 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6671 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6672 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6673 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6674 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6675 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6676 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6677 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6678 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6679 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6680 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6683 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6684 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6685 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6689 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6690 display them after one another.
6693 Don't gather loose threads.
6696 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6697 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6698 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6699 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6700 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6701 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6702 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6703 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6704 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6705 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6706 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6708 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6709 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6710 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6713 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6714 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6715 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6716 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6717 simplification is used.
6719 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6720 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6721 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6722 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6724 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6726 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6732 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6733 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6734 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6735 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6740 (mapconcat 'identity
6741 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6743 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6746 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6749 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6750 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6751 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6752 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6753 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6754 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6756 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6759 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6760 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6761 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6763 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6764 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6767 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6768 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6769 Remove excessive whitespace.
6771 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6772 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6773 Remove all whitespace.
6776 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6779 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6780 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6781 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6782 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6783 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6784 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6785 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6786 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6788 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6789 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6790 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6791 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6792 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6793 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6794 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6795 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6796 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6800 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6801 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6802 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6803 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6805 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6806 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6807 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6810 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6814 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6815 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6821 @node Filling In Threads
6822 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6825 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6826 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6827 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6828 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6829 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6830 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6831 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6832 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6833 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6834 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6835 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6836 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6839 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6840 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6841 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6843 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6844 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6845 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6848 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6849 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6850 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6851 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6852 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6853 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6854 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6855 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6856 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6857 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6858 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6859 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6860 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6861 @code{nil} by default.
6863 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6864 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6865 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6866 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6867 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6868 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6869 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6871 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6872 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6873 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6878 @node More Threading
6879 @subsubsection More Threading
6882 @item gnus-show-threads
6883 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6884 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6885 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6886 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6887 slower and more awkward.
6889 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6890 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6891 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6894 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6895 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6896 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6901 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6902 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6903 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6906 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6907 unread, but you get my drift.)
6910 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6911 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6912 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6913 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6914 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6915 threads are expunged.
6917 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6918 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6919 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6922 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6923 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6924 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6925 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6926 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6927 result in a new thread.
6929 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6930 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6931 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6934 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6935 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6936 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6937 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6938 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6939 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6940 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6941 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6942 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6943 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6944 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6949 @node Low-Level Threading
6950 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6954 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6955 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6956 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6958 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6959 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6960 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6961 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6962 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6963 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6964 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6965 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6966 meaningful. Here's one example:
6969 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6971 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6972 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6974 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6976 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6983 @node Thread Commands
6984 @subsection Thread Commands
6985 @cindex thread commands
6991 @kindex T k (Summary)
6992 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6993 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6994 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6995 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6996 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7001 @kindex T l (Summary)
7002 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7003 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7004 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7005 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7008 @kindex T i (Summary)
7009 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7010 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7011 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7014 @kindex T # (Summary)
7015 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7016 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7017 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7020 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7021 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7022 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7023 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7026 @kindex T T (Summary)
7027 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7028 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7031 @kindex T s (Summary)
7032 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7033 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7034 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7037 @kindex T h (Summary)
7038 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7039 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7042 @kindex T S (Summary)
7043 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7044 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7047 @kindex T H (Summary)
7048 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7049 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7052 @kindex T t (Summary)
7053 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7054 Re-thread the current article's thread
7055 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7056 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7059 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7060 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7061 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7062 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7065 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7066 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7067 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7068 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7072 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7073 understand the numeric prefix.
7078 @kindex T n (Summary)
7080 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7082 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7083 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7084 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7087 @kindex T p (Summary)
7089 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7091 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7092 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7093 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7096 @kindex T d (Summary)
7097 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7098 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7101 @kindex T u (Summary)
7102 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7103 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7106 @kindex T o (Summary)
7107 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7108 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7111 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7112 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7113 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7114 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7115 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7116 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7117 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7118 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7119 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7120 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7121 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7122 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7126 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7127 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7129 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7130 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7131 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse
7132 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7133 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7134 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7135 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7136 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7137 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7138 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7139 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7140 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7141 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7142 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7143 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7144 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7146 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7147 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7148 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7149 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7150 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse},
7151 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7152 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7153 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7154 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7155 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7157 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7158 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7159 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7161 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7162 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7163 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7164 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7165 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7166 ascending article order.
7168 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7169 by number, you could do something like:
7172 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7173 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7174 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7175 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7178 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7179 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7180 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7181 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7182 which the articles arrived.
7184 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7188 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7189 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7190 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7193 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7194 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7195 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7196 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7199 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7200 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7201 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7202 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7203 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7204 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7205 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7206 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7207 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7208 variable. It is very similar to the
7209 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7210 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7211 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7212 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7213 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7214 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7215 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7217 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7221 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7222 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7223 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7226 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7227 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7230 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7231 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7232 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7233 @cindex article pre-fetch
7236 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7237 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7238 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7239 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7240 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7242 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7243 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7245 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7246 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7247 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7248 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7249 connection is blocked.
7251 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7252 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7253 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7254 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7256 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7257 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7258 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7259 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7262 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7265 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7266 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7267 happen automatically.
7269 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7270 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7271 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7272 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7273 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7274 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7275 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7277 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7278 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7279 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7280 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7281 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7282 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7283 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7284 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7285 article data structure as the only parameter.
7287 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7288 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7291 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7292 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7293 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7294 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7297 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7300 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7301 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7302 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7304 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7305 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7306 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7307 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7311 Remove articles when they are read.
7314 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7317 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7319 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7320 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7321 @c from the next group.
7324 @node Article Caching
7325 @section Article Caching
7326 @cindex article caching
7329 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7330 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7331 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7332 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7333 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7335 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7337 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7338 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7339 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7340 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7341 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7342 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7343 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7344 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7346 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7347 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7348 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7349 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7350 as dormant, and don't worry.
7352 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7354 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7355 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7356 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7357 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7358 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7359 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7360 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7361 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7362 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7363 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7365 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7366 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7367 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7368 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7369 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7370 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7371 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7372 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7373 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7374 not then be downloaded by this command.
7376 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7377 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7378 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7379 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7380 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7381 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7383 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7384 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7385 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7386 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7387 variables, the group is not cached.
7389 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7390 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7391 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7392 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7393 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7394 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7395 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7396 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7397 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7400 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7401 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7402 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7403 where, isn't that cool?
7405 @node Persistent Articles
7406 @section Persistent Articles
7407 @cindex persistent articles
7409 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7410 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7411 useful in my opinion.
7413 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7414 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7415 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7416 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7417 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7418 the expiry going on at the news server.
7420 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7421 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7422 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7428 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7429 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7432 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7434 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7435 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7439 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7441 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7442 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7443 interested in persistent articles:
7446 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7450 @node Article Backlog
7451 @section Article Backlog
7453 @cindex article backlog
7455 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7456 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7457 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7458 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7459 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7460 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7461 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7462 increase memory usage some.
7464 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7465 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7466 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7467 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7468 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7469 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7470 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7472 The default value is 20.
7475 @node Saving Articles
7476 @section Saving Articles
7477 @cindex saving articles
7479 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7480 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7481 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7482 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7483 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7485 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7486 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7487 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7489 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7490 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7491 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7493 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7494 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7495 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7496 deleted before saving.
7502 @kindex O o (Summary)
7504 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7505 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7506 Save the current article using the default article saver
7507 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7510 @kindex O m (Summary)
7511 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7512 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7513 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7516 @kindex O r (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7518 Save the current article in Rmail format
7519 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7522 @kindex O f (Summary)
7523 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7524 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7525 Save the current article in plain file format
7526 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7529 @kindex O F (Summary)
7530 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7531 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7532 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7535 @kindex O b (Summary)
7536 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7537 Save the current article body in plain file format
7538 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7541 @kindex O h (Summary)
7542 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7543 Save the current article in mh folder format
7544 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7547 @kindex O v (Summary)
7548 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7549 Save the current article in a VM folder
7550 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7554 @kindex O p (Summary)
7556 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7557 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7558 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7559 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7560 complete headers in the piped output.
7563 @kindex O P (Summary)
7564 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7565 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7566 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7567 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7568 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7569 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7570 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7574 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7575 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7576 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7577 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7578 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7579 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7580 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7581 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7582 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7583 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7584 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7585 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7589 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7590 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7591 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7592 functions below, or you can create your own.
7596 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7597 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7598 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7599 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7600 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7601 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7602 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7604 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7605 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7606 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7607 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7608 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7609 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7611 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7612 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7613 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7614 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7615 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7616 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7617 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7619 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7620 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7621 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7622 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7623 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7624 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7626 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7627 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7628 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7629 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7630 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7632 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7633 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7634 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7635 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7636 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7637 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7639 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7640 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7641 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7642 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7643 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7646 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7647 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7648 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7649 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7650 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7652 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7653 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7654 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7655 reader to use this setting.
7658 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7662 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7663 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7664 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7665 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file}, and
7666 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7669 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7670 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7671 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7672 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7673 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7674 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7677 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7678 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7679 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7680 headers should be saved.
7683 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7684 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7685 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7686 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7689 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7690 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7691 available functions that generate names:
7695 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7696 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7697 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7699 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7700 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7701 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7703 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7704 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7705 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7707 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7708 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7709 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7711 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7712 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7713 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7716 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7717 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7718 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7719 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7720 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7724 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7725 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7726 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7727 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7730 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7731 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7732 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7733 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7734 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7735 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7736 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7737 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7738 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7740 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7741 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7742 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7743 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7745 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7746 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7747 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7750 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7751 lots of mail groups called things like
7752 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7753 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7754 following will do just that:
7757 (defun my-save-name (group)
7758 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7759 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7761 (setq gnus-split-methods
7762 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7767 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7768 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7769 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7770 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7771 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7772 all the files in the top level directory
7773 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7774 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7775 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7776 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7778 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7779 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7780 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7781 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7782 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7785 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7789 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7790 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7791 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7794 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7795 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7796 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7797 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7800 @node Decoding Articles
7801 @section Decoding Articles
7802 @cindex decoding articles
7804 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7805 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7808 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7809 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7810 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7811 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7812 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7813 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7817 @cindex article series
7818 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7819 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7820 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7821 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7822 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7824 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7825 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7826 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7828 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7829 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7830 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7832 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7833 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7834 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7837 @node Uuencoded Articles
7838 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7840 @cindex uuencoded articles
7845 @kindex X u (Summary)
7846 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7847 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7848 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7851 @kindex X U (Summary)
7852 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7853 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7854 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7857 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7858 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7859 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7862 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7863 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7864 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7865 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7869 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7870 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7871 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7872 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7873 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7875 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7876 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7877 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7878 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7881 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7882 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7883 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7884 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7885 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7886 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7890 @node Shell Archives
7891 @subsection Shell Archives
7893 @cindex shell archives
7894 @cindex shared articles
7896 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7897 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7898 some commands to deal with these:
7903 @kindex X s (Summary)
7904 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7905 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7908 @kindex X S (Summary)
7909 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7910 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7913 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7914 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7915 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7918 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7919 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7920 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7921 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7925 @node PostScript Files
7926 @subsection PostScript Files
7932 @kindex X p (Summary)
7933 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7934 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7937 @kindex X P (Summary)
7938 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7939 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7940 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7943 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7944 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7945 View the current PostScript series
7946 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7949 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7950 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7951 View and save the current PostScript series
7952 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7957 @subsection Other Files
7961 @kindex X o (Summary)
7962 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7963 Save the current series
7964 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7967 @kindex X b (Summary)
7968 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7969 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7970 doesn't really work yet.
7974 @node Decoding Variables
7975 @subsection Decoding Variables
7977 Adjective, not verb.
7980 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7981 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7982 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7986 @node Rule Variables
7987 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7988 @cindex rule variables
7990 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7991 variables are of the form
7994 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8001 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8002 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8004 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8005 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8008 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8009 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8012 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8013 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8014 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8015 user and default view rules.
8017 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8018 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8019 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8024 @node Other Decode Variables
8025 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8028 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8030 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8031 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8032 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8033 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8034 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8038 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8039 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8042 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8043 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8044 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8047 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8048 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8049 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8050 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8051 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8054 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8055 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8056 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8058 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8059 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8060 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8061 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8062 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8065 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8066 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8067 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8069 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8070 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8071 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8072 looking for files to display.
8074 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8075 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8076 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8079 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8080 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8081 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8084 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8085 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8086 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8089 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8090 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8091 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8094 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8095 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8096 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8097 decoded articles as unread.
8099 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8100 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8101 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8102 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8104 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8105 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8106 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8108 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8109 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8111 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8112 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8113 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8114 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8116 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8117 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8118 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8119 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8120 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8121 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8122 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8123 simply dropped them.
8128 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8129 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8133 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8134 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8135 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8136 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8137 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8138 for you when you post the article.
8140 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8141 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8142 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8143 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8145 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8146 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8147 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8148 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8149 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8150 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8151 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8153 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8154 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8155 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8156 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8157 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8158 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8159 Default is @code{t}.
8165 @subsection Viewing Files
8166 @cindex viewing files
8167 @cindex pseudo-articles
8169 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8170 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8171 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8172 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8173 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8174 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8175 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8177 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8178 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8179 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8180 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8182 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8183 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8184 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8186 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8187 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8188 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8189 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8190 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8192 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8193 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8194 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8195 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8196 a list of parameters to that command.
8198 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8199 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8200 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8202 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8203 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8204 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8207 @node Article Treatment
8208 @section Article Treatment
8210 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8211 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8212 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8213 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8214 these articles easier.
8217 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8218 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8219 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8220 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8221 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8222 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8223 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8224 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8225 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8226 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8227 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8231 @node Article Highlighting
8232 @subsection Article Highlighting
8233 @cindex highlighting
8235 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8236 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8241 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8242 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8243 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8244 Do much highlighting of the current article
8245 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8246 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8249 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8250 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8251 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8252 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8253 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8254 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8255 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8256 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8257 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8258 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8259 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8260 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8263 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8264 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8265 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8267 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8270 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8272 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8273 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8274 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8276 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8277 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8278 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8280 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8281 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8282 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8283 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8284 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8285 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8287 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8288 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8289 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8291 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8292 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8293 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8295 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8296 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8297 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8298 that it's a citation.
8300 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8301 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8302 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8304 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8305 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8306 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8308 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8309 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8310 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8311 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8313 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8314 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8315 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8316 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8317 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8324 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8325 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8326 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8327 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8328 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8329 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8330 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8331 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8336 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8339 @node Article Fontisizing
8340 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8342 @cindex article emphasis
8344 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8345 @kindex W e (Summary)
8346 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8347 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8348 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8349 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8351 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8352 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8353 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8354 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8355 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8356 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8357 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8358 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8362 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8363 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8364 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8373 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8374 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8375 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8376 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8377 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8378 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8379 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8380 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8381 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8382 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8383 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8384 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8385 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8387 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8388 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8389 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8393 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8396 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8398 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8399 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8400 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8401 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8403 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8406 @node Article Hiding
8407 @subsection Article Hiding
8408 @cindex article hiding
8410 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8411 too much cruft in most articles.
8416 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8417 @findex gnus-article-hide
8418 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8419 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8420 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8423 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8425 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8429 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8430 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8431 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8432 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8435 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8436 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8437 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8441 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8442 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8443 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8444 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8445 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8446 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8447 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8448 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8452 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8453 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8454 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8455 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8460 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8461 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8462 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8463 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8466 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8467 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8468 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8469 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8472 @cindex stripping advertisements
8473 @cindex advertisements
8474 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8475 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8476 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8477 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8478 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8479 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8480 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8481 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8482 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8483 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8486 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8487 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8488 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8492 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8493 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8494 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8495 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8496 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8497 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8498 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8499 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8500 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8501 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8502 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8505 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8506 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8512 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8514 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8515 customizing the hiding:
8519 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8520 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8521 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8522 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8523 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8524 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8525 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8530 Starting point of the hidden text.
8532 Ending point of the hidden text.
8534 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8536 Number of lines of hidden text.
8539 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8540 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8541 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8542 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8543 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8548 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8549 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8551 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8552 following two variables:
8555 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8556 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8557 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8558 50), hide the cited text.
8560 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8561 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8562 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8567 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8568 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8569 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8570 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8571 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8572 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8576 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8577 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8578 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8580 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8581 citation customization.
8583 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8587 @node Article Washing
8588 @subsection Article Washing
8590 @cindex article washing
8592 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8593 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8595 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8596 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8599 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8600 articles by default.
8605 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8606 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8610 Force redisplaying of the current article
8611 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8612 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8613 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8614 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8617 @kindex W l (Summary)
8618 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8619 Remove page breaks from the current article
8620 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8624 @kindex W r (Summary)
8625 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8626 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8627 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8628 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8629 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8630 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8632 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8633 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8634 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8635 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8638 @kindex W m (Summary)
8639 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8640 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8643 @kindex W i (Summary)
8644 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8645 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8646 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8647 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8648 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8649 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8654 @kindex W t (Summary)
8656 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8657 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8658 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8661 @kindex W v (Summary)
8662 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8663 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8664 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8667 @kindex W o (Summary)
8668 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8669 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8672 @kindex W d (Summary)
8673 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8674 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8676 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8678 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8679 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8680 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8681 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8684 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8685 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8686 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8687 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8690 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8691 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8692 @cindex Outlook Express
8693 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8694 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8695 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8698 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8699 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8700 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8701 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8702 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8703 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8704 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8705 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8706 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8707 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8710 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8711 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8712 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8713 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8716 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8717 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8718 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8719 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8722 @kindex W w (Summary)
8723 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8724 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8726 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8730 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8731 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8732 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8735 @kindex W C (Summary)
8736 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8737 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8738 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8741 @kindex W c (Summary)
8742 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8743 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8744 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8745 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8746 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8749 @kindex W q (Summary)
8750 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8751 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8752 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8753 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8754 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8755 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8756 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8757 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8758 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8761 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8762 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8763 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8764 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8765 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8766 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8767 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8768 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8771 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8772 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8773 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8774 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8775 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8778 @kindex W A (Summary)
8779 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8780 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8781 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8782 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8783 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8786 @kindex W u (Summary)
8787 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8788 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8789 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8790 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8791 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8794 @kindex W h (Summary)
8795 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8796 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8797 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8798 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8800 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
8801 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
8802 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
8804 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8805 The default is to use the function specified by
8806 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8807 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8808 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8809 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8817 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8819 @item w3m-standalone
8820 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
8823 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8826 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8829 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8834 @kindex W b (Summary)
8835 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8836 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8837 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8840 @kindex W B (Summary)
8841 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8842 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8843 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8846 @kindex W p (Summary)
8847 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8848 Verify a signed control message
8849 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8850 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8851 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8852 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8853 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8854 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8857 @kindex W s (Summary)
8858 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8859 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8860 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8861 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8864 @kindex W a (Summary)
8865 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8866 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8867 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8870 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8871 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8872 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8873 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8876 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8877 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8878 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8879 lines with a single empty line.
8880 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8883 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8884 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8885 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8886 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8889 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8890 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8891 Do all the three commands above
8892 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8895 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8896 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8897 Remove all blank lines
8898 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8901 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8903 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8904 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8907 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8908 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8909 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8910 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8914 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8917 @node Article Header
8918 @subsection Article Header
8920 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8925 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8926 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8927 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8930 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8931 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8932 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8933 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8936 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8937 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8938 Fold all the message headers
8939 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8942 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8943 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8944 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8945 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8950 @node Article Buttons
8951 @subsection Article Buttons
8954 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8955 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8956 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8957 button on these references.
8959 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8960 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8961 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8962 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8963 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8967 @item gnus-button-alist
8968 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8969 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8972 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8978 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8979 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8980 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8981 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8982 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8985 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8986 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8987 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8990 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8991 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8992 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8993 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8994 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8996 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8999 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9002 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9003 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9007 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9010 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9013 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9014 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9015 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9016 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9017 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9020 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9023 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9026 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9029 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9030 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9032 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9034 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9035 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9036 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9037 default values of the variables above.
9039 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9041 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9042 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9043 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9044 argument with a string naming the man page.
9046 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9048 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9049 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9050 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9052 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9053 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9054 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9055 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9056 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9057 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9058 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9059 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
9060 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9061 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9062 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9063 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9065 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9066 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9067 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9068 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9069 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9072 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9073 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9074 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9075 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9077 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
9079 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
9080 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
9081 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
9082 argument, the string naming the URL.
9085 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
9086 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
9087 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
9091 @item gnus-article-button-face
9092 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9093 Face used on buttons.
9095 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9096 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9097 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9101 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9104 @node Article Button Levels
9105 @subsection Article button levels
9106 @cindex button levels
9107 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9108 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9109 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9110 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9111 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9112 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9113 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9114 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9117 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9118 (setq gnus-parameters
9119 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9120 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9121 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9126 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9127 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9128 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9129 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9130 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9131 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9133 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9134 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9135 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9136 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9137 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9138 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9139 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9140 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9141 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9142 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9143 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9144 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9145 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9147 @item gnus-button-man-level
9148 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9149 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9150 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9152 @item gnus-button-message-level
9153 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9154 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9155 Related variables and functions include
9156 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9157 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9158 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9159 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9161 @item gnus-button-tex-level
9162 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
9163 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
9164 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
9165 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
9166 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
9167 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
9173 @subsection Article Date
9175 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9176 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9177 when the article was sent.
9182 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9183 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9184 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9185 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9188 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9189 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9191 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9192 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9195 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9196 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9197 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9200 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9201 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9202 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9203 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9206 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9207 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9208 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9209 @findex format-time-string
9210 Display the date using a user-defined format
9211 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9212 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9213 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9214 for a list of possible format specs.
9217 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9218 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9219 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9220 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9221 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9222 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9225 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9228 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9229 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9230 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9233 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9234 into wonderful absurdities.
9236 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9239 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9242 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9243 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9247 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9248 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9249 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9250 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9251 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9252 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9253 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9257 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9258 preferred format automatically.
9261 @node Article Display
9262 @subsection Article Display
9267 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9268 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9270 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9271 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9273 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9274 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9276 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9277 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9279 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9280 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9282 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9287 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9288 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9289 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9290 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9293 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9294 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9295 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9296 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9299 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9300 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9301 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9304 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9305 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9306 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9309 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9310 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9311 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9312 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9315 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9316 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9317 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9318 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9321 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9322 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9323 Remove all images from the article buffer
9324 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9330 @node Article Signature
9331 @subsection Article Signature
9333 @cindex article signature
9335 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9336 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9337 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9338 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9339 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9340 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9341 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9342 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9343 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9346 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9347 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9348 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9349 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9350 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9351 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9352 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9353 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9356 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9359 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9360 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9361 signature when displaying articles.
9365 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9368 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9371 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9372 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9374 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9375 in question is not a signature.
9378 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9379 listed above. Here's an example:
9382 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9383 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9386 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9387 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9388 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9389 signature after all.
9392 @node Article Miscellanea
9393 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9397 @kindex A t (Summary)
9398 @findex gnus-article-babel
9399 Translate the article from one language to another
9400 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9406 @section MIME Commands
9407 @cindex MIME decoding
9409 @cindex viewing attachments
9411 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9412 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9418 @kindex K v (Summary)
9419 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9422 @kindex K o (Summary)
9423 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9426 @kindex K O (Summary)
9427 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9428 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9429 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9432 @kindex K r (Summary)
9433 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9436 @kindex K d (Summary)
9437 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9441 @kindex K c (Summary)
9442 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9445 @kindex K e (Summary)
9446 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9449 @kindex K i (Summary)
9450 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9453 @kindex K | (Summary)
9454 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9457 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9462 @kindex K b (Summary)
9463 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9464 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9468 @kindex K m (Summary)
9469 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9470 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9471 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9472 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9473 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9476 @kindex X m (Summary)
9477 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9478 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9479 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9480 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9483 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9484 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9485 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9486 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9489 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9490 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9491 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9492 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9495 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9496 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9497 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9498 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9500 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9501 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9502 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9503 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9504 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9505 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9508 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9509 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9510 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9511 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9518 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9519 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9520 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9521 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9524 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9527 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9531 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9532 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9533 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9534 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9535 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9536 default is @code{nil}.
9538 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9539 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9542 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9543 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9544 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9545 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9546 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9547 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9548 for encoding in Gnus.
9550 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9551 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9552 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9553 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9554 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9555 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9556 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9557 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9559 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9560 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9561 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9562 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9563 displayed. This variable overrides
9564 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9565 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9568 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9569 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9570 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9572 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9573 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9574 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9575 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9576 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9578 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9579 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9580 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9581 default value is @code{nil}.
9583 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9584 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9585 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9586 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9587 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9588 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9589 save all jpegs into some directory).
9591 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9594 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9595 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9597 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9598 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9599 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9600 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9601 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9604 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9605 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9606 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9608 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9609 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9610 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9612 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9613 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9614 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9616 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9617 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9618 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9619 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9620 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9622 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9623 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9624 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9625 overrides @code{nil} values of
9626 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9627 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9629 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9630 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9631 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9632 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9634 Ready-made functions include@*
9635 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9636 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9637 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9638 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9639 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9640 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9641 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9642 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9643 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9644 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9645 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9646 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9648 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9649 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9651 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9652 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9653 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9656 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9657 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9658 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9659 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9663 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9672 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9673 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9674 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9675 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9676 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9677 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9678 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9680 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9681 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9682 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9683 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9685 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9686 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9687 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9688 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9689 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9690 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9691 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9692 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9693 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9695 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9696 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9697 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9698 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9699 quoted-printable header encoding.
9701 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9702 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9703 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9707 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9710 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9711 means encode all charsets),
9713 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9714 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9715 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9722 @cindex coding system aliases
9723 @cindex preferred charset
9725 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9726 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9727 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9729 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9731 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9732 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9735 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9736 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9739 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9740 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9742 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9745 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9748 This will almost do the right thing.
9750 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9754 (codepage-setup 1251)
9755 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9759 @node Article Commands
9760 @section Article Commands
9767 @kindex A P (Summary)
9768 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9769 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9770 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9771 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9772 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9773 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9778 @node Summary Sorting
9779 @section Summary Sorting
9780 @cindex summary sorting
9782 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9783 can't really see why you'd want that.
9788 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9789 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9790 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9793 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9794 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9795 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9798 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
9799 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
9800 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
9803 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9804 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9805 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9808 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9809 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9810 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9813 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9814 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9815 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9818 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9819 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9820 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9823 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9824 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9825 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9828 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9829 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9830 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9833 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9834 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9835 Sort using the default sorting method
9836 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9839 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9840 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9841 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9842 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9843 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9847 @node Finding the Parent
9848 @section Finding the Parent
9849 @cindex parent articles
9850 @cindex referring articles
9855 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9856 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9857 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9858 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9859 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9860 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9861 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9862 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9863 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9865 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9866 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9867 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9868 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9869 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9873 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9874 @kindex A R (Summary)
9875 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9876 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9879 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9880 @kindex A T (Summary)
9881 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9882 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9883 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9884 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9885 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9886 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9887 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9889 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9890 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9891 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9892 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9893 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9894 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9897 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9898 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9900 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9901 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
9902 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
9903 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
9904 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
9905 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9907 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
9908 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
9909 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
9912 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9913 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9914 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9915 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9916 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9917 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9920 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9921 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9922 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9925 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9926 then ask Google if that fails:
9929 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9931 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9934 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9935 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9936 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9937 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9938 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9939 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9940 not support this at all.
9943 @node Alternative Approaches
9944 @section Alternative Approaches
9946 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9947 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9950 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9951 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9956 @subsection Pick and Read
9957 @cindex pick and read
9959 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9960 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9961 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9962 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9964 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9965 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9966 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9967 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9968 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9969 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9971 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9976 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9977 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9978 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9979 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9980 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9981 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9982 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9983 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9986 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9987 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9988 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9989 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9993 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9994 Unpick the thread or article
9995 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9996 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9997 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9998 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9999 the thread or article at that line.
10003 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10004 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10005 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10006 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10007 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10008 will still be visible when you are reading.
10012 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10013 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10014 which is mapped to the same function
10015 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10017 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10020 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10023 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10024 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10026 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10027 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10028 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10030 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10031 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10032 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10033 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10034 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10035 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10036 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10039 @node Binary Groups
10040 @subsection Binary Groups
10041 @cindex binary groups
10043 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10044 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10045 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10046 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10047 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10048 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10049 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10052 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10053 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10054 command, when you have turned on this mode
10055 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10057 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10058 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10062 @section Tree Display
10065 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10066 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10067 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10068 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10069 in the tree buffer.
10071 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10074 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10075 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10076 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10078 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10079 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10080 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10081 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10082 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10084 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10085 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10086 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10087 default is @code{modeline}.
10089 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10090 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10091 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10092 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10093 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10094 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10095 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10101 The name of the poster.
10103 The @code{From} header.
10105 The number of the article.
10107 The opening bracket.
10109 The closing bracket.
10114 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10116 Variables related to the display are:
10119 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10120 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10121 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10122 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10124 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10125 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10126 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10128 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10130 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10131 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10132 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10133 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10137 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10138 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10139 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10140 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10141 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10142 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10143 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10144 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10145 other windows displayed next to it.
10147 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10151 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10152 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10155 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10156 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10157 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10158 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10159 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10160 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10161 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10165 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10168 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10178 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10183 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10184 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10186 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10188 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10194 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10195 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10196 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10199 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10200 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10201 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10202 (gnus-add-configuration
10206 (summary 0.75 point)
10211 @xref{Window Layout}.
10214 @node Mail Group Commands
10215 @section Mail Group Commands
10216 @cindex mail group commands
10218 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10219 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10221 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10222 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10227 @kindex B e (Summary)
10228 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10229 @cindex expiring mail
10230 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10231 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10232 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10233 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10236 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10237 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10238 @cindex expiring mail
10239 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10240 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10241 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10242 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10245 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10246 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10247 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10248 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10249 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10250 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10253 @kindex B m (Summary)
10255 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10256 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10257 Move the article from one mail group to another
10258 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10259 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10262 @kindex B c (Summary)
10264 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10265 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10266 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10267 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10268 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10271 @kindex B B (Summary)
10272 @cindex crosspost mail
10273 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10274 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10275 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10276 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10277 be properly updated.
10280 @kindex B i (Summary)
10281 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10282 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10283 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10284 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10287 @kindex B I (Summary)
10288 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10289 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10290 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10291 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10294 @kindex B r (Summary)
10295 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10296 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10297 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10298 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10299 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10300 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10301 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10302 (which is the default).
10306 @kindex B w (Summary)
10307 @kindex e (Summary)
10308 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10309 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10310 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10311 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10312 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10313 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10314 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10317 @kindex B q (Summary)
10318 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10319 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10320 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10321 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10324 @kindex B t (Summary)
10325 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10326 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10327 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10330 @kindex B p (Summary)
10331 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10332 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10333 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10334 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10335 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10336 article from your news server (or rather, from
10337 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10338 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10339 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10340 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10341 just not have arrived yet.
10344 @kindex K E (Summary)
10345 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10346 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10347 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10348 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10349 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10353 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10354 @cindex moving articles
10355 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10356 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10357 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10358 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10359 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10360 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10361 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10364 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10365 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10366 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10367 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10371 @node Various Summary Stuff
10372 @section Various Summary Stuff
10375 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10376 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10377 * Summary Generation Commands::
10378 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10382 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10383 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10384 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10385 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10386 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10387 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10389 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10390 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10391 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10394 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10395 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10396 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10398 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10399 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10400 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10401 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10402 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10403 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10406 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10407 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10408 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10409 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10410 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10412 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10413 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10414 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10417 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10418 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10419 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10420 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10421 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10422 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10423 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10424 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10425 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10426 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10428 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10429 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10430 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10431 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10432 list of articles to be selected.
10434 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10435 the list in one particular group:
10438 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10439 (if (string= group "some.group")
10440 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10444 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10445 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10446 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10447 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10448 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10451 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10452 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10453 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10454 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10455 variable will be used instead.
10457 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10458 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10459 buffers. For example:
10462 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10463 '(message-use-followup-to
10464 (gnus-visible-headers .
10465 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10468 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10472 @node Summary Group Information
10473 @subsection Summary Group Information
10478 @kindex H f (Summary)
10479 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10480 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10481 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10482 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10483 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10484 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10485 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10486 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10487 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10490 @kindex H d (Summary)
10491 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10492 Give a brief description of the current group
10493 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10494 rereading the description from the server.
10497 @kindex H h (Summary)
10498 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10499 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10500 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10503 @kindex H i (Summary)
10504 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10505 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10509 @node Searching for Articles
10510 @subsection Searching for Articles
10515 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10516 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10517 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10518 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10521 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10522 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10523 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10524 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10527 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10528 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10529 Repeat the previous search forwards
10530 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10533 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10534 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10535 Repeat the previous search backwards
10536 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10539 @kindex & (Summary)
10540 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10541 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10542 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10543 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10544 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10545 search backward instead.
10547 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10548 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10551 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10552 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10553 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10554 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10557 @node Summary Generation Commands
10558 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10563 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10564 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10565 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10568 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10569 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10570 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10571 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10574 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10575 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10576 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10577 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10580 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10581 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10582 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10583 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10588 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10589 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10595 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10596 @kindex A D (Summary)
10597 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10598 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10599 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10600 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10601 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10602 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10603 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10604 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10608 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10609 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10610 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10611 several documents into one biiig group
10612 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10613 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10614 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10615 command understands the process/prefix convention
10616 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10619 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10620 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10621 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10622 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10623 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10624 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10627 @kindex = (Summary)
10628 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10629 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10630 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10633 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10634 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10635 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10636 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10639 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10640 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10641 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10642 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10647 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10648 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10649 @cindex summary exit
10650 @cindex exiting groups
10652 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10653 group and return you to the group buffer.
10660 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10661 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10662 @kindex q (Summary)
10663 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10664 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10665 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10666 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10667 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10668 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10669 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10670 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10671 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10672 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10673 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10674 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10678 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10679 @kindex Q (Summary)
10680 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10681 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10682 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10686 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10687 @kindex c (Summary)
10688 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10689 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10690 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10691 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10694 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10695 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10696 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10697 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10700 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10701 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10702 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10703 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10706 @kindex Z p (Summary)
10707 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
10708 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
10709 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
10713 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10714 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10715 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10716 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10717 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10718 all articles, both read and unread.
10722 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10723 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10724 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10725 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10726 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10727 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10728 articles, both read and unread.
10731 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10732 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10733 Exit the group and go to the next group
10734 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10737 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10738 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10739 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10740 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10743 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10744 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10745 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10746 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10747 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10748 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10751 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10752 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10753 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10754 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10756 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10757 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10758 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10759 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10760 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10761 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10762 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10763 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10764 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10765 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10766 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10767 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10769 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10771 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10772 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10773 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10774 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10775 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10776 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10777 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10778 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10779 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10782 @node Crosspost Handling
10783 @section Crosspost Handling
10787 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10788 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10789 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10790 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10791 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10792 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10795 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10796 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10797 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10798 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10799 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10801 @cindex cross-posting
10803 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10804 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10805 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10806 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10807 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10808 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10809 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10810 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10811 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10812 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10813 the cross reference mechanism.
10815 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10816 @cindex overview.fmt
10817 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10818 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10819 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10820 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10821 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10822 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10825 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10826 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10827 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10832 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10835 @node Duplicate Suppression
10836 @section Duplicate Suppression
10838 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10839 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10840 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10841 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10846 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10847 is evil and not very common.
10850 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10851 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10854 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10855 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10858 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10861 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10862 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10864 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10865 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10866 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10867 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10868 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10869 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10870 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10873 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10874 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10875 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10876 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10877 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10878 saw the article in.
10881 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10882 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10883 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10885 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10886 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10887 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10888 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10889 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10890 session are suppressed.
10892 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10893 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10894 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10895 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10897 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10898 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10899 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10900 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10903 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10904 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10905 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10906 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10907 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10908 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10909 to you to figure out, I think.
10914 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10915 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10916 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10921 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10922 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10923 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10924 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10927 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10928 or newer is recommended.
10932 The variables that control security functionality on reading messages
10936 @item mm-verify-option
10937 @vindex mm-verify-option
10938 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10939 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10940 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10942 @item mm-decrypt-option
10943 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10944 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10945 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10946 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10949 @vindex mml1991-use
10950 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10951 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10952 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10956 @vindex mml2015-use
10957 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10958 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10959 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10964 By default the buttons that display security information are not
10965 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
10966 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
10967 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
10968 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
10969 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
10970 how to customize these variables to always display security
10973 @cindex snarfing keys
10974 @cindex importing PGP keys
10975 @cindex PGP key ring import
10976 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10977 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10978 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10979 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10980 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10981 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10982 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10983 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10984 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10987 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10990 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10991 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10993 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
10994 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
10995 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10998 @section Mailing List
10999 @cindex mailing list
11002 @kindex A M (summary)
11003 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11004 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11005 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11006 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11009 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11014 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11015 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11016 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11019 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11020 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11021 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11024 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11025 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11026 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11030 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11031 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11032 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11035 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11036 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11037 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11040 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11041 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11042 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11047 @node Article Buffer
11048 @chapter Article Buffer
11049 @cindex article buffer
11051 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11052 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11053 tell Gnus otherwise.
11056 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11057 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11058 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11059 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11060 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11064 @node Hiding Headers
11065 @section Hiding Headers
11066 @cindex hiding headers
11067 @cindex deleting headers
11069 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11070 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11072 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11073 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11074 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11075 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11076 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11077 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11078 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11079 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11080 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11082 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11086 @item gnus-visible-headers
11087 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11088 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11089 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11090 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11092 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11093 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11096 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11099 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11102 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11103 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11104 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11105 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11106 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11107 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11109 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11110 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11113 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11116 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11119 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11120 variable will have no effect.
11124 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11125 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11126 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11127 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11128 the headers are to be displayed.
11130 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11131 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11134 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11137 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11138 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11140 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11141 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11142 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11143 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11144 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11145 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11146 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11149 These conditions are:
11152 Remove all empty headers.
11154 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11155 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11157 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11158 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11161 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11164 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11165 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11167 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11168 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11170 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11171 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11173 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11176 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11178 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11181 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11184 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11185 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11188 This is also the default value for this variable.
11192 @section Using MIME
11193 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11195 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11196 while people stand around yawning.
11198 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11199 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11201 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11202 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11203 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11205 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11206 @findex gnus-display-mime
11207 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11208 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11209 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11210 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11212 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11213 @acronym{MIME} button:
11216 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11217 @item RET (Article)
11218 @kindex RET (Article)
11219 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11220 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11221 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11222 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11223 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11224 object is displayed inline.
11226 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11227 @item M-RET (Article)
11228 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11230 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11231 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11233 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11235 @kindex t (Article)
11236 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11237 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11239 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11241 @kindex C (Article)
11242 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11243 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11245 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11247 @kindex o (Article)
11248 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11249 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11251 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11252 @item C-o (Article)
11253 @kindex C-o (Article)
11254 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11255 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11256 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11257 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11258 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11259 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11261 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11263 @kindex r (Article)
11264 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11265 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11266 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11268 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11270 @kindex d (Article)
11271 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11272 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11273 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11275 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11277 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11279 @kindex c (Article)
11280 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11281 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11282 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11283 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11284 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11285 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11286 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11287 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11289 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11291 @kindex p (Article)
11292 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11293 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11294 @file{.mailcap} file.
11296 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11298 @kindex i (Article)
11299 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11300 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
11301 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11302 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11303 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11304 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11305 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11306 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11307 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11309 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11311 @kindex E (Article)
11312 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11313 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11314 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11316 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11318 @kindex e (Article)
11319 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11320 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11322 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11324 @kindex | (Article)
11325 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11327 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11329 @kindex . (Article)
11330 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11331 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11335 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11336 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11337 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11339 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11340 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11341 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11342 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11343 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11344 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11345 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11346 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11347 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11349 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11351 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11354 @node Customizing Articles
11355 @section Customizing Articles
11356 @cindex article customization
11358 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11359 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11360 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11361 called automatically when you select the articles.
11363 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11364 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11365 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11366 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11368 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11369 for sensible values.
11373 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11376 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11379 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11382 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11385 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11388 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11392 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11393 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11394 regexps in the list.
11397 A list where the first element is not a string:
11399 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11400 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11401 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11405 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11410 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11411 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11412 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11413 considered to contain just a single part.
11415 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11416 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11417 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11418 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11419 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11420 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11421 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11424 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11425 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11427 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11428 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11429 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11430 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11431 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11432 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11433 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11434 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11435 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11436 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11437 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11438 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11439 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
11440 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
11441 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
11442 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
11443 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
11444 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
11445 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
11446 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11447 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11448 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11449 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11450 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11451 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11452 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11453 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11454 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11455 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11456 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11457 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11458 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11459 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11460 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11461 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11462 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11463 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11464 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11465 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11466 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11467 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11468 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11469 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11470 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11471 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11472 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11475 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11476 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11477 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11478 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11481 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11482 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11484 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11486 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11487 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11488 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11489 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11490 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11491 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11492 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11493 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11494 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11495 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11497 @xref{Article Washing}.
11499 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11500 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11501 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11502 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11503 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11504 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11505 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11507 @xref{Article Date}.
11509 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11510 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11511 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11515 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11517 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11519 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11520 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11521 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11525 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11526 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11530 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11531 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11535 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11536 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11537 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11538 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11539 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11540 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11541 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11542 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11543 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11544 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11545 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11546 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11547 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11548 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11549 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11550 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11551 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11552 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11553 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11554 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11556 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11558 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11559 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11560 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11561 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11562 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11563 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11565 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11567 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11568 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11569 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11570 @item gnus-treat-translate
11571 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11572 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11573 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11575 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11576 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11577 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11578 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11579 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11580 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11581 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11582 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11584 @xref{Article Header}.
11589 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11590 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11591 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11592 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11593 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11597 @node Article Keymap
11598 @section Article Keymap
11600 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11601 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11602 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11603 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11606 @kindex v (Article)
11607 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
11608 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
11609 function or better use it as a prefix key.
11611 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11616 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11617 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11618 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11619 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11622 @kindex DEL (Article)
11623 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11624 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11625 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11628 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11629 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11630 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11631 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11632 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11635 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11636 @findex gnus-article-mail
11637 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11638 given a prefix, include the mail.
11641 @kindex s (Article)
11642 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11643 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11644 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11647 @kindex ? (Article)
11648 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11649 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11650 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11653 @kindex TAB (Article)
11654 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11655 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11656 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11659 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11660 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11661 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11664 @kindex R (Article)
11665 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11666 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11667 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11668 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11672 @kindex F (Article)
11673 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11674 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11675 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11676 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11684 @section Misc Article
11688 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11689 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11690 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11691 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11694 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11695 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11696 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11697 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11698 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11700 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11701 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11702 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11703 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11704 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11705 the contents of the article buffer.
11707 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11708 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11709 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11711 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11712 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11713 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11714 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11716 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11717 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11718 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11719 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11721 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11722 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11723 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11724 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11725 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11726 with two extensions:
11731 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11732 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11733 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11738 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11741 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11744 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11745 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11746 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11749 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11752 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11755 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11760 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11764 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11766 @item gnus-break-pages
11767 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11768 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11769 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11770 paging will not be done.
11772 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11773 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11774 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11778 @cindex internationalized domain names
11779 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11780 @item gnus-use-idna
11781 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11782 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11783 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
11784 for how to compose such messages. This requires
11785 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11786 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11791 @node Composing Messages
11792 @chapter Composing Messages
11793 @cindex composing messages
11796 @cindex sending mail
11801 @cindex using s/mime
11802 @cindex using smime
11804 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11805 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11806 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11807 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11808 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11809 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11812 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11813 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11814 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11815 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11816 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11817 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11818 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11819 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11820 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11823 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11824 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11830 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11833 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11834 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11835 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11836 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11837 @code{nil} include all headers.
11839 @item gnus-add-to-list
11840 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11841 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11842 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11844 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11845 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11846 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
11847 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
11848 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
11849 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
11850 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
11851 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
11853 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11854 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
11856 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11857 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11858 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11859 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11860 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11865 @node Posting Server
11866 @section Posting Server
11868 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11869 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11871 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11873 It can be quite complicated.
11875 @vindex gnus-post-method
11876 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11877 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11878 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11879 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11880 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11881 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11882 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11883 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11884 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11887 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11890 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11891 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11892 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11893 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11895 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11896 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11898 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11899 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11902 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11903 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11905 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11906 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11907 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11908 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11909 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11910 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11911 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11912 package correctly. An example:
11915 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11916 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11919 To the thing similar to this, there is
11920 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11921 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11922 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11924 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11925 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11926 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11928 @node POP before SMTP
11929 @section POP before SMTP
11930 @cindex pop before smtp
11931 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11932 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11934 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11935 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11936 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11937 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11938 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11941 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11942 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11946 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11947 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11948 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11949 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11950 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11951 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11952 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11953 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11955 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11956 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11957 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11958 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11959 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11960 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11963 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11964 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11965 :password "secret"))
11969 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11970 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11973 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
11975 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
11976 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11977 :password "secret")))
11978 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
11981 @node Mail and Post
11982 @section Mail and Post
11984 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11988 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11989 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11990 @cindex mailing lists
11992 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11993 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11994 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11995 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11996 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11997 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11998 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11999 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12000 still a pain, though.
12002 @item gnus-user-agent
12003 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12006 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12007 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
12008 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
12009 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
12010 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
12011 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
12012 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12016 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12017 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12018 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12021 @findex ispell-message
12023 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12026 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12027 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12030 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12034 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12035 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12037 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12040 Modify to suit your needs.
12042 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12043 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12044 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12047 @node Archived Messages
12048 @section Archived Messages
12049 @cindex archived messages
12050 @cindex sent messages
12052 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12053 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12054 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12055 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12058 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12059 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12062 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12063 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12064 use to store sent messages. The default is:
12067 (nnfolder "archive"
12068 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12069 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12070 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12071 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12074 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12075 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12076 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12077 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12080 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12081 '(nnfolder "archive"
12082 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12083 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12084 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12087 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12089 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12090 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12091 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12093 This variable can be used to do the following:
12097 Messages will be saved in that group.
12099 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12100 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12101 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12102 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12103 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12104 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12105 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12106 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12109 @item a list of strings
12110 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12112 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12113 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12116 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
12121 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12123 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12126 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12128 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12131 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12133 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12134 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12135 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12136 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12139 More complex stuff:
12141 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12142 '((if (message-news-p)
12147 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12148 messages in one file per month:
12151 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12152 '((if (message-news-p)
12154 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12157 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
12158 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
12160 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12161 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12162 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12163 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12164 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12165 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12166 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12167 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12168 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12169 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12171 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
12172 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
12173 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
12174 this will disable archiving.
12177 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
12178 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
12179 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
12180 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
12181 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
12184 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
12185 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
12186 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
12189 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
12190 but the latter is the preferred method.
12192 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12193 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12194 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12196 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12197 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12198 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12199 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12200 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12201 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12202 changed in the future.
12207 @node Posting Styles
12208 @section Posting Styles
12209 @cindex posting styles
12212 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12214 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12215 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12216 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12219 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12220 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12221 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12222 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12223 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12228 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12229 (organization "What me?"))
12231 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12232 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12233 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12236 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12237 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12238 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12239 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12240 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12241 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12242 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12243 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12245 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12246 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12247 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12248 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12249 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12250 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12251 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12252 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12253 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12254 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12255 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12256 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12257 said to @dfn{match}.
12259 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12260 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12261 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12262 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12263 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12264 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12265 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12266 name can be one of:
12269 @item @code{signature}
12270 @item @code{signature-file}
12271 @item @code{x-face-file}
12272 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12273 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12277 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12278 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12279 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12280 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12281 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12283 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
12284 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
12285 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
12286 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12287 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
12288 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
12289 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
12290 references chars lines xref extra.
12292 @vindex message-reply-headers
12294 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12295 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12296 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12298 @findex message-mail-p
12299 @findex message-news-p
12301 So here's a new example:
12304 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12306 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12308 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12309 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12310 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12312 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12313 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12314 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12315 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12316 (signature my-news-signature))
12317 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12318 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12319 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12320 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12321 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12322 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12323 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12324 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12325 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12326 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12328 (From (save-excursion
12329 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
12330 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12332 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12335 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12336 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12337 if you fill many roles.
12338 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12339 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12345 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12346 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12347 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12348 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12349 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12351 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12352 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12353 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12354 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12355 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12359 @vindex nndraft-directory
12360 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12361 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12362 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12363 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12364 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12365 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12367 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12368 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12369 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12370 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12371 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12372 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12373 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12374 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12375 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12377 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12378 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12379 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12380 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12381 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12382 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12383 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12384 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12385 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12386 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12387 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12388 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12389 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12390 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12392 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12393 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12394 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12396 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12397 @kindex D e (Draft)
12398 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12399 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12400 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12402 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12405 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12406 @kindex D s (Draft)
12407 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12408 @kindex D S (Draft)
12409 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12410 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12411 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12412 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12413 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12416 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12417 @kindex D t (Draft)
12418 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12419 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12420 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12423 @node Rejected Articles
12424 @section Rejected Articles
12425 @cindex rejected articles
12427 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12428 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12429 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12430 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12432 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12433 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12434 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12435 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12436 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12438 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12439 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12440 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12442 @node Signing and encrypting
12443 @section Signing and encrypting
12445 @cindex using s/mime
12446 @cindex using smime
12448 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12449 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12450 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12451 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12453 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12454 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12455 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12456 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12457 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12458 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12459 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12460 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12461 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12462 automatically encrypted messages.
12464 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12465 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12466 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12471 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12472 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12474 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12477 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12478 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12480 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12483 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12484 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12486 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12489 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12490 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12492 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12495 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12496 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12498 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12501 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12502 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12504 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12507 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12508 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12509 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12513 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12515 @node Select Methods
12516 @chapter Select Methods
12517 @cindex foreign groups
12518 @cindex select methods
12520 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12521 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12522 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12523 personal mail group.
12525 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12526 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12527 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12528 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12529 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12530 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12532 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12533 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12535 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12538 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12539 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12540 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12541 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12542 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12544 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12547 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12548 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12549 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12550 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12551 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12552 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12553 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12554 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
12555 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12559 @node Server Buffer
12560 @section Server Buffer
12562 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12563 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12564 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12565 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12566 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12567 back end represents a virtual server.
12569 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12570 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12571 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12572 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12574 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12575 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12576 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12577 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12578 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12579 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12580 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12582 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12583 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12586 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12587 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12588 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12589 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12590 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12591 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12592 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12595 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12596 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12599 @node Server Buffer Format
12600 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12601 @cindex server buffer format
12603 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12604 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12605 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12606 variable, with some simple extensions:
12611 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12614 The name of this server.
12617 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12620 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12623 Whether this server is agentized.
12626 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12627 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12628 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12629 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12639 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12642 @node Server Commands
12643 @subsection Server Commands
12644 @cindex server commands
12650 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
12651 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it key to some
12652 function or better use it as a prefix key.
12656 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12657 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12661 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12662 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12665 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12666 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12667 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12671 @findex gnus-server-exit
12672 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12676 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12677 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12681 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12682 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12686 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12687 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12691 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12692 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12696 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12697 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12698 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12703 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12704 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12705 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12706 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12711 @node Example Methods
12712 @subsection Example Methods
12714 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12717 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12720 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12726 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12727 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12730 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12731 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12733 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12734 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12738 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12741 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12742 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12744 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12745 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12746 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12750 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12753 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12756 Here's the method for a public spool:
12760 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12761 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12767 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12768 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12769 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12770 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12771 should probably look something like this:
12775 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12776 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12777 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12778 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12781 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12782 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12783 configuration to the example above:
12786 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12789 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
12790 an indirect connection:
12792 (setq gnus-select-method
12794 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
12795 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
12796 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
12797 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12798 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
12799 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
12800 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)))
12803 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12804 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12805 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12809 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12810 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12811 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12812 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12815 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12816 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12817 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12818 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12821 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12822 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12824 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12825 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12827 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12828 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12829 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12831 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12833 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12834 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12835 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12836 will contain the following:
12846 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12847 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12850 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12851 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12852 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12855 @node Server Variables
12856 @subsection Server Variables
12857 @cindex server variables
12858 @cindex server parameters
12860 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12861 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12862 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12863 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12864 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12866 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12867 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12868 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12869 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12870 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12871 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12872 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12873 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12874 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12878 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12879 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12880 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12883 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12885 @node Servers and Methods
12886 @subsection Servers and Methods
12888 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12889 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12890 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12891 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12895 @node Unavailable Servers
12896 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12898 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12899 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12900 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12901 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12902 actually the case or not.
12904 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12905 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12906 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12907 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12908 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12909 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12910 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12911 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12913 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12914 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12916 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12917 with the following commands:
12923 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12924 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12925 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12929 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12930 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12931 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12935 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12936 Mark the current server as unreachable
12937 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12940 @kindex M-o (Server)
12941 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12942 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12943 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12946 @kindex M-c (Server)
12947 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12948 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12949 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12953 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12954 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12955 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12959 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12960 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12966 @section Getting News
12967 @cindex reading news
12968 @cindex news back ends
12970 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12971 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12972 or it can read from a local spool.
12975 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12976 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12984 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12985 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12986 server as the, uhm, address.
12988 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12989 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12990 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12991 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12993 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12994 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12995 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12997 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13002 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13003 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13004 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13006 @cindex authentication
13007 @cindex nntp authentication
13008 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13009 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13010 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13011 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13012 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13013 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13014 present in this hook.
13016 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13017 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13018 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13019 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13020 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13021 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13022 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13023 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13024 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13025 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13026 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13027 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13031 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13034 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13036 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13037 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13038 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13039 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13040 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13041 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13042 @samp{force} is explained below.
13046 Here's an example file:
13049 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13050 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13053 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13054 have to be first, for instance.
13056 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13057 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13058 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13059 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13060 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13061 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13062 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13064 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13065 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13071 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13072 previously mentioned.
13074 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13076 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13077 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13078 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13079 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13080 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13083 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13084 '(("innd" (ding))))
13087 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13089 The default value is
13092 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13093 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13094 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13097 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13098 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13100 @item nntp-maximum-request
13101 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13102 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13103 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13104 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13105 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13106 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13107 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13109 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13110 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13111 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13112 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13113 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13114 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13115 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13116 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13117 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13118 no timeouts are done.
13120 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13121 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13122 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13123 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13126 @item nntp-xover-commands
13127 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13128 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13130 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13131 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13135 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13136 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13137 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13138 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13139 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13140 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13141 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13142 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13143 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13144 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13145 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13147 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13148 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13149 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13151 @item nntp-record-commands
13152 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13153 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13154 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13155 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13156 that doesn't seem to work.
13158 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13159 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13160 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13161 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13162 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13163 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13164 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13165 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13167 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13168 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13169 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13170 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13171 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13172 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13173 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13174 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13175 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13177 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13178 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13179 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13180 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13181 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13182 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13183 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13185 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13186 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13187 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13188 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13189 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13190 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13191 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13192 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13193 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13195 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13196 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13197 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13198 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13199 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13200 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13201 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13203 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13204 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13205 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13206 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13207 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13208 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13209 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13212 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13215 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13216 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13221 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13222 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13223 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13224 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13228 @node Direct Functions
13229 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13230 @cindex direct connection functions
13232 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13233 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13234 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13235 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13238 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13239 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13240 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13243 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13244 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13245 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13246 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
13247 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13250 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13251 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13253 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13254 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13255 (nntp-port-number )
13256 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13259 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13260 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13261 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13262 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13263 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13264 then define a server as follows:
13267 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13268 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13270 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13271 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13272 (nntp-port-number 563)
13273 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13276 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13277 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13278 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
13279 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
13280 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13281 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13282 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13283 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13287 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13288 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13289 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13292 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13293 session, which is not a good idea.
13297 @node Indirect Functions
13298 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13299 @cindex indirect connection functions
13301 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13302 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13303 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13304 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13305 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13306 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13309 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13310 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13311 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
13312 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13313 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13315 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13318 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13319 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13320 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13321 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13323 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13324 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13325 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13326 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13327 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13328 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
13329 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13330 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13334 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13335 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13337 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13338 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13339 Does essentially the same, but uses
13340 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} instead of @samp{telnet}
13341 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13343 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13346 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
13347 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
13348 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13349 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
13350 programs like @uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html,
13353 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
13354 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
13355 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13356 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
13358 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13359 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13360 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13361 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13363 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13364 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13365 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13366 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
13369 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13370 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13371 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13372 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13374 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13377 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13378 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13379 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13382 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13383 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13384 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13385 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13387 @item nntp-via-user-password
13388 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13389 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13391 @item nntp-via-envuser
13392 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13393 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13394 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13395 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13397 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13398 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13399 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13400 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13404 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13405 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13409 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13414 @item nntp-via-user-name
13415 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13416 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13418 @item nntp-via-address
13419 @vindex nntp-via-address
13420 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13425 @node Common Variables
13426 @subsubsection Common Variables
13428 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13429 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13430 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13431 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13432 variables individually).
13436 @item nntp-pre-command
13437 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13438 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13439 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13440 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13441 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13444 @vindex nntp-address
13445 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13447 @item nntp-port-number
13448 @vindex nntp-port-number
13449 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13450 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13451 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13452 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13453 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13454 not work with named ports.
13456 @item nntp-end-of-line
13457 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13458 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13459 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13460 using a non native telnet connection function.
13462 @item nntp-telnet-command
13463 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13464 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13465 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13466 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13469 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13470 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13471 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13477 @subsubsection NNTP marks
13478 @cindex storing NNTP marks
13480 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
13481 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
13482 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
13483 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
13484 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
13485 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
13486 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
13487 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
13489 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
13490 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
13491 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
13492 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
13493 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13495 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
13496 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
13497 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
13498 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
13499 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
13500 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
13501 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
13503 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
13504 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
13505 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13511 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
13512 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
13513 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
13514 default is @code{nil}.
13516 @item nntp-marks-directory
13517 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
13518 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
13524 @subsection News Spool
13528 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13529 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13530 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13533 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13534 anything else) as the address.
13536 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13537 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13538 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13539 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13543 @item nnspool-inews-program
13544 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13545 Program used to post an article.
13547 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13548 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13549 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13551 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13552 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13553 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13554 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13556 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13557 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13558 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13559 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13561 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13562 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13563 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13565 @item nnspool-active-file
13566 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13567 The name of the active file.
13569 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13570 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13571 The name of the group descriptions file.
13573 @item nnspool-history-file
13574 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13575 The name of the news history file.
13577 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13578 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13579 The name of the active date file.
13581 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13582 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13583 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13586 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13587 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13589 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13590 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13591 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13598 @section Getting Mail
13599 @cindex reading mail
13602 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13606 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13607 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13608 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13609 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13610 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13611 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13612 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13613 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13614 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13615 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13616 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13617 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13618 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13622 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13623 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13625 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13626 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13627 of a culture shock.
13629 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13630 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13632 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13633 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13634 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13635 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13637 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13639 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13640 deleted? How awful!
13642 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13643 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13644 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13645 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13648 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13649 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13650 they want to treat a message.
13652 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13653 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13654 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13655 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13656 archived somewhere else.
13658 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13659 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13660 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13661 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13662 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13664 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13665 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13666 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13668 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13669 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13672 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13673 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13674 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13675 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13676 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13678 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13679 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13680 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13681 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13682 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13683 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13687 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13688 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13690 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13691 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13692 and things will happen automatically.
13694 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13695 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13698 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13701 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13702 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13703 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13704 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13705 like any other group.
13707 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13710 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13711 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13712 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13716 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13717 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13718 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13721 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13722 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13723 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13726 @node Splitting Mail
13727 @subsection Splitting Mail
13728 @cindex splitting mail
13729 @cindex mail splitting
13730 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13732 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13733 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13734 to be split into groups.
13737 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13738 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13739 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13740 ("mail.other" "")))
13743 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13744 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13745 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13746 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13747 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13748 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13749 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13752 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13756 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13757 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13759 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13760 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13761 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13762 mail belongs in that group.
13764 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
13765 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13766 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
13767 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13768 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
13769 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
13770 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
13771 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
13772 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
13773 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
13775 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13776 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13777 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13778 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13779 thinks should carry this mail message.
13781 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13782 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13783 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13784 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13786 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13787 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13788 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13789 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13790 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
13792 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13795 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13796 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13797 links. If that's the case for you, set
13798 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13799 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13801 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13802 @findex nnmail-split-history
13803 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13804 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13805 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13806 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13809 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13810 Header lines longer than the value of
13811 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13814 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13815 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13816 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13817 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13818 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13819 charset for decoding. The behavior can be turned off completely by
13820 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13821 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13823 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13824 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13825 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13826 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13827 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13828 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13829 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13830 other kinds of entries.)
13832 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13833 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13834 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13835 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13836 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13837 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13838 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13839 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13840 month's rent money.
13844 @subsection Mail Sources
13846 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13847 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13848 maildir, for instance.
13851 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13852 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13853 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13857 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13858 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13860 @cindex mail server
13863 @cindex mail source
13865 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13866 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13871 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13874 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13875 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13876 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13879 The following mail source types are available:
13883 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13889 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13890 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13891 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13895 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13898 An example file mail source:
13901 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13904 Or using the default file name:
13910 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13911 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13912 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13913 mail spool while moving the mail.
13915 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13919 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13922 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13926 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13929 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13931 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13934 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13938 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13939 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13940 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13941 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13942 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13943 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13944 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13945 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13946 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13947 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13949 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13950 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13951 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13952 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13958 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13962 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13966 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13967 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13968 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13969 predicate are considered.
13973 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13977 An example directory mail source:
13980 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13985 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13991 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13992 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13995 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13996 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13997 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13998 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13999 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14002 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14006 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14007 the user is prompted.
14010 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14011 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14014 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14017 The valid format specifier characters are:
14021 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14022 included in this string.
14025 The name of the server.
14028 The port number of the server.
14031 The user name to use.
14034 The password to use.
14037 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14038 corresponding keywords.
14041 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14042 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14045 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14046 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14049 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14050 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14051 mail should be moved to.
14053 @item :authentication
14054 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14055 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14060 @vindex pop3-movemail
14061 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14062 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14063 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14064 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14065 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14066 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14067 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14068 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14069 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14071 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14072 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14073 name, and default fetcher:
14079 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14082 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14083 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14086 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14089 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14093 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14094 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14095 contains exactly one mail.
14101 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14102 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14105 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14106 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14108 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14109 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14110 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14113 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14114 from locking problems).
14118 Two example maildir mail sources:
14121 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14122 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14126 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14131 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14132 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14133 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14134 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14135 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
14137 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
14138 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
14144 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14145 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14148 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14149 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14152 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14156 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14160 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14161 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14162 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14163 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14165 @item :authentication
14166 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14167 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14168 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14169 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14172 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14173 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14174 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14180 The valid format specifier characters are:
14184 The name of the server.
14187 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14190 The port number of the server.
14193 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14194 corresponding keywords.
14197 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14198 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
14201 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14202 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14203 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14204 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14205 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14206 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14209 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14210 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14211 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14212 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14215 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14216 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14220 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14223 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14225 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14229 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
14230 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
14231 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
14233 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
14234 required for url "4.0pre.46".
14236 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
14242 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
14243 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
14246 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
14250 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
14254 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
14255 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
14259 An example webmail source:
14262 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
14264 :password "secret")
14269 @item Common Keywords
14270 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14276 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14277 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14282 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14287 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14288 useful when you use local mail and news.
14293 @subsubsection Function Interface
14295 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14296 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14297 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14298 consider the following mail-source setting:
14301 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14302 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14305 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14306 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14307 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14308 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14309 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14311 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14314 @node Mail Source Customization
14315 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14317 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14318 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14322 @item mail-source-crash-box
14323 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14324 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14325 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14327 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14328 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14329 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14330 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14331 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14332 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
14333 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
14334 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
14336 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14337 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14338 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
14339 files. This variable only applies when
14340 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
14342 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
14343 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
14344 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
14346 @item mail-source-directory
14347 @vindex mail-source-directory
14348 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
14349 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
14350 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
14351 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
14353 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14354 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14355 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
14356 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
14357 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
14358 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
14361 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
14362 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
14363 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
14365 @item mail-source-movemail-program
14366 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
14367 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
14368 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
14373 @node Fetching Mail
14374 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
14376 @vindex mail-sources
14377 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
14378 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
14379 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
14380 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
14382 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
14383 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
14386 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
14387 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
14392 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14393 :password "secret")))
14396 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
14400 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
14401 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14404 :password "secret")))
14408 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
14409 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
14410 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
14411 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
14412 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
14413 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
14417 @node Mail Back End Variables
14418 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
14420 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
14424 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14425 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14426 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
14427 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
14429 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
14430 @item nnmail-split-hook
14431 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14432 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14433 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14434 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14435 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14436 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14437 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14438 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14439 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14442 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14443 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14444 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14445 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14446 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14447 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14448 starting to handle the new mail) and
14449 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14450 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14451 default file modes the new mail files get:
14454 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14455 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14457 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14458 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14461 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14462 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14463 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14464 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14465 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14466 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14467 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14469 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14470 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14471 @findex delete-file
14472 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14474 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14475 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14476 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14477 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14478 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14480 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14481 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14482 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14483 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14484 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14486 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14487 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14488 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14493 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14494 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14495 @cindex mail splitting
14496 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14498 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14499 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14500 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14501 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14502 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14503 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14505 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14508 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14509 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14510 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14511 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14513 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14514 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14515 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14516 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14517 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14518 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14519 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14520 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14521 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14522 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14523 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14524 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14525 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14526 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14527 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14528 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14529 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14533 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14534 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14535 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14540 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14541 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14543 @c Don't fold this line.
14544 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
14545 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
14546 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
14547 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
14550 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
14551 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
14552 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
14553 @var{split} is processed.
14555 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
14556 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
14557 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
14558 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14560 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14561 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14562 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14563 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14564 stored in one or more groups.
14566 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14567 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14568 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14571 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14572 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14574 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14575 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14576 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14577 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14580 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14581 body of the messages:
14584 (defun split-on-body ()
14588 (goto-char (point-min))
14589 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14593 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14594 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14595 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14596 above. Also note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will
14597 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14598 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14599 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14601 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14602 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14603 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14604 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14605 should return a split.
14608 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14612 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14614 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
14615 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
14616 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
14617 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
14621 (any "joe" "joemail")
14625 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
14626 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
14627 of the following three ways:
14631 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14632 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
14633 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
14634 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
14635 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
14638 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
14641 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
14642 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
14643 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
14644 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
14645 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
14648 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
14649 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
14650 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
14651 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14652 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
14653 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14654 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14657 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14658 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14659 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14660 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14661 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14662 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14663 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14667 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14669 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14670 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14672 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14675 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14676 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14677 when all this splitting is performed.
14679 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14680 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14681 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14684 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14687 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14688 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14690 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14691 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14692 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14693 groupings 1 through 9.
14695 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14696 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14697 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14698 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14699 groups when users send to an address using different case
14700 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14703 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14704 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14705 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14706 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14707 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14708 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14709 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14710 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14711 it once per thread.
14713 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14714 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14715 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14716 using the colon feature, like so:
14718 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14719 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14721 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14722 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14726 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14727 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14728 in the file specified by the variable
14729 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14730 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14731 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14732 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14733 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14734 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14735 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14736 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14737 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14738 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14739 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14740 300 kBytes in size.)
14741 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14742 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14743 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14744 messages goes into the new group.
14746 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14747 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14748 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14749 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14750 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14751 ``outgoing'' group.
14754 @node Group Mail Splitting
14755 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14756 @cindex mail splitting
14757 @cindex group mail splitting
14759 @findex gnus-group-split
14760 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14761 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14762 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14763 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14764 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14765 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14766 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14767 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14769 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14770 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14771 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14772 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14774 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14775 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14776 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14777 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14778 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14779 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14780 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14782 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14783 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14784 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14785 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14786 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14787 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14788 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14790 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14791 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14792 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14793 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14794 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14795 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14796 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14797 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14798 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14799 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14800 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14801 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14802 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14804 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14809 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14810 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14812 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14813 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14814 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14815 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14817 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14820 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14821 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14822 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14825 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14826 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14827 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14831 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14832 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14833 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14837 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14840 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14841 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14842 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14843 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14844 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14845 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14846 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14847 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14848 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14850 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14851 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14852 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14853 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14854 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14855 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14856 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14857 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14858 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14860 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14861 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14862 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14863 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14864 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14865 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14868 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14871 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14872 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14873 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14874 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14875 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14878 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14879 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14880 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14881 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14883 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14884 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14885 @cindex incorporating old mail
14886 @cindex import old mail
14888 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14889 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14890 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14893 Doing so can be quite easy.
14895 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14896 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14897 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14898 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14899 your @code{nnml} groups.
14905 Go to the group buffer.
14908 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14909 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14912 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14915 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14916 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14919 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14920 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14923 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14924 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14925 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14926 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14927 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14929 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14930 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14931 using the new mail back end.
14934 @node Expiring Mail
14935 @subsection Expiring Mail
14936 @cindex article expiry
14937 @cindex expiring mail
14939 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14940 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14941 different approach to mail reading.
14943 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14944 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14945 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14946 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14947 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14948 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14951 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14952 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14953 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14954 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14955 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14956 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14957 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14958 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14959 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14961 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14962 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14963 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14964 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14965 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14966 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14967 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14970 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14971 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14972 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14973 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14974 into its own group.)
14976 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14977 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14978 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14979 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14980 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14981 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14982 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14983 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14986 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14987 Groups that match the regular expression
14988 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14989 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14990 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14992 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14993 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14994 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14995 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14996 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14998 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15000 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15001 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15002 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15005 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15006 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15007 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15008 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15009 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15011 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15012 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15015 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15016 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15019 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15020 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15022 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15023 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15024 don't really mix very well.
15026 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15027 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15028 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15029 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15032 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15033 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15034 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15035 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15038 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15040 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15042 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15044 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15046 ((string= group "important")
15052 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15053 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15055 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15056 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15057 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15060 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15061 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15063 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15064 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15065 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15066 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15067 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15068 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15069 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15070 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15071 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15072 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15073 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15074 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15075 name or @code{delete}.
15077 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15079 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15082 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15083 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15084 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15085 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15086 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15089 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15090 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15091 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15092 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15093 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15096 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15097 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15098 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15099 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15100 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15101 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15103 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15104 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15105 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15106 easier for procmail users.
15108 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15109 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15110 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15111 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15112 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15113 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15114 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15115 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15116 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15117 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15118 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15119 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15120 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15123 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15125 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15126 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15127 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15128 auto-expire turned on.
15132 @subsection Washing Mail
15133 @cindex mail washing
15134 @cindex list server brain damage
15135 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15137 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15138 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15139 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15140 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15141 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15142 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15144 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15145 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15146 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15149 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15150 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15151 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15152 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15155 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15156 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15157 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15158 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15159 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15162 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15163 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15164 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15165 Emacs running on MS machines.
15169 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15170 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15171 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15172 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15175 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15176 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15177 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15178 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15180 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15181 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15182 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15183 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15184 into a feature by documenting it.)
15186 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15187 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15188 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15189 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15190 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15191 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15192 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15195 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15196 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15199 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15200 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15203 This can also be done non-destructively with
15204 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15206 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15207 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15208 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15210 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15211 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15212 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15215 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15216 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15217 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15218 contain a line matching the regular expression
15219 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15223 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15224 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15225 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15229 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15230 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15231 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15238 @subsection Duplicates
15240 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15241 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15242 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15243 @cindex duplicate mails
15244 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15245 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15246 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15247 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15248 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15249 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15250 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15251 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15252 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15253 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15254 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15255 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15256 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15258 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15259 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15260 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15261 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15263 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15266 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15267 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15271 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15272 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15273 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15274 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15275 (any mail "mail.misc")
15276 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15282 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15283 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15284 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15288 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15289 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15290 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15291 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15292 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15295 @node Not Reading Mail
15296 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15298 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15299 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15300 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15302 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15303 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15304 mail, which should help.
15306 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15307 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15308 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15309 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15310 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15311 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
15312 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
15313 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
15314 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
15315 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
15316 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
15318 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
15319 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
15323 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
15324 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
15326 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
15327 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
15328 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
15330 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
15331 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
15332 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
15336 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
15337 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
15338 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
15339 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
15340 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
15341 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
15342 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
15346 @node Unix Mail Box
15347 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
15349 @cindex unix mail box
15351 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15352 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15353 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
15354 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
15355 which group it belongs in.
15357 Virtual server settings:
15360 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
15361 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15362 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
15365 @item nnmbox-active-file
15366 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15367 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
15368 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
15370 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
15371 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15372 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
15373 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
15378 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
15382 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15383 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15384 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
15385 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
15386 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
15388 Virtual server settings:
15391 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
15392 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15393 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
15395 @item nnbabyl-active-file
15396 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15397 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
15398 @file{~/.rmail-active}
15400 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15401 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15402 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
15408 @subsubsection Mail Spool
15410 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
15412 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
15413 format. It should be used with some caution.
15415 @vindex nnml-directory
15416 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
15417 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
15418 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
15419 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
15421 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
15424 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
15425 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
15426 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
15427 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
15428 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
15429 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
15430 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
15431 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
15433 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
15434 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
15435 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
15436 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
15438 @cindex self contained nnml servers
15440 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
15441 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15442 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15443 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
15444 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
15445 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
15446 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
15447 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
15450 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
15451 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
15452 them next time it starts.
15454 Virtual server settings:
15457 @item nnml-directory
15458 @vindex nnml-directory
15459 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
15460 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
15463 @item nnml-active-file
15464 @vindex nnml-active-file
15465 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15466 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15468 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15469 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15470 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15471 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15473 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15474 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15475 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15478 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15479 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15480 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15481 default is @code{nil}.
15483 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15484 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15485 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15487 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15488 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15489 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15491 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15492 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15493 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15494 default is @code{nil}.
15496 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15497 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15498 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15500 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15501 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15502 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15503 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
15504 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
15505 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
15506 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
15507 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
15508 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
15510 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15511 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15512 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
15513 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
15514 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
15518 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15519 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15520 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15521 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15522 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15523 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15524 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15529 @subsubsection MH Spool
15531 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15533 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15534 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15535 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15536 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15539 Virtual server settings:
15542 @item nnmh-directory
15543 @vindex nnmh-directory
15544 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15545 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15548 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15549 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15550 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15554 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15555 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15556 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15557 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15558 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15559 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15560 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15565 @subsubsection Maildir
15569 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15570 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15571 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15572 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15573 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15576 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15577 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15578 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15579 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15580 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15581 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15582 that appear as group in Gnus.
15584 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15585 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15586 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15588 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15589 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15590 another, and you will keep your marks.
15592 Virtual server settings:
15596 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15597 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15598 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15599 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15600 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15601 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15602 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15603 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15604 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15605 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15607 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15608 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15609 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15610 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15611 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15612 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15613 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15614 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15615 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15616 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15619 @item target-prefix
15620 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15621 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15622 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15625 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15626 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15627 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15628 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15629 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15630 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15631 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15632 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15633 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15635 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15636 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15637 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15638 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15639 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15641 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15642 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15643 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15644 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15645 @code{force} argument.
15647 @item directory-files
15648 This should be a function with the same interface as
15649 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15650 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15651 parameter is optional; the default is
15652 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15653 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15654 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15655 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15656 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15657 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15660 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15661 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15662 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15663 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15664 value is @code{nil}.
15666 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15667 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15668 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15669 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15670 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15673 @subsubsection Group parameters
15675 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15676 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15677 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15678 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15679 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15680 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15683 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15684 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15685 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15686 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15687 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15688 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15689 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15690 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15691 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15695 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15696 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15697 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15698 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15699 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
15700 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
15701 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
15702 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15703 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15704 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15705 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15706 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15707 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15710 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15712 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15714 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15715 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15716 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15717 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15718 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15719 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15720 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15721 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15722 article. So that form can refer to
15723 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15724 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
15725 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15726 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15729 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15730 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15731 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15732 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15733 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15734 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15735 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15736 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15737 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15738 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15739 contain extra copies of the articles.
15741 @item directory-files
15742 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15743 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15744 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15745 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15747 @item distrust-Lines:
15748 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15749 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15750 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15753 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15754 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15755 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15756 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15757 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15758 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15761 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15762 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15763 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15764 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15765 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15766 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15767 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15769 @item nov-cache-size
15770 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15771 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15772 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15773 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15774 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15775 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15776 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15777 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15778 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15779 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15780 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15783 @subsubsection Article identification
15784 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15785 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15786 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15787 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15788 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15789 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15790 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15791 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15792 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15793 request the article in the summary buffer.
15795 @subsubsection NOV data
15796 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15797 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15798 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15799 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15800 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15801 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15802 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15803 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15804 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15805 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15806 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15808 @subsubsection Article marks
15809 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15810 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15811 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15812 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15813 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15814 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15815 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15816 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15818 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15819 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15820 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15821 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15822 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15823 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15824 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15825 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15826 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15830 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15832 @cindex mbox folders
15833 @cindex mail folders
15835 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15836 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15837 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15838 numbers and arrival dates.
15840 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15842 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15843 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15844 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15845 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15846 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15847 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15848 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15849 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15850 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15851 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15853 Virtual server settings:
15856 @item nnfolder-directory
15857 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15858 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15859 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15860 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15862 @item nnfolder-active-file
15863 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15864 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15866 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15867 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15868 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15869 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15871 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15872 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15873 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15874 default is @code{t}
15876 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15877 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15878 @cindex backup files
15879 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15880 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15881 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15882 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15885 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15886 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15888 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15891 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15892 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15893 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15894 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15895 extract some information from it before removing it.
15897 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15898 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15899 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15900 default is @code{nil}.
15902 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15903 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15904 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15906 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15907 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15908 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15909 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15911 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15912 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15913 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15914 default is @code{nil}.
15916 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15917 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15918 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15920 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15921 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15922 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15923 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15928 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15929 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15930 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15931 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15932 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15933 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15936 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15937 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15939 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15940 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15941 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15942 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15943 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15945 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15946 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15947 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15948 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15949 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15950 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15951 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15952 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15955 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15956 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15957 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15958 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15963 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15964 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15965 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15966 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15967 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15968 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15969 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15970 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15971 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15972 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15973 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15974 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15975 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15980 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15981 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15982 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15983 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15984 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15985 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15986 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15987 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15988 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15989 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15990 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15991 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15992 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15993 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15995 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15996 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16001 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16002 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16003 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16004 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16005 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16006 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16007 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16008 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16009 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16010 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16011 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16012 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16013 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16014 provided by the active file and overviews.
16016 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16017 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16018 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16019 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16020 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16023 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16024 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16029 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16030 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16031 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16032 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16033 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16034 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16035 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16039 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16040 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16041 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16042 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16043 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16044 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16045 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16046 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16047 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16049 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16050 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16051 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16052 friendly mail back end all over.
16056 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16057 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16060 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16061 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16062 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16063 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16064 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
16065 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
16066 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
16067 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
16070 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16071 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16072 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16073 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16074 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16075 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16076 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16077 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16078 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16079 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16080 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16082 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16083 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16084 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16085 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16086 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16089 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16090 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16091 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16092 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16093 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16094 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16095 removed in the future.
16097 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16098 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16099 on your file system.
16101 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16102 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16107 @node Browsing the Web
16108 @section Browsing the Web
16110 @cindex browsing the web
16114 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16115 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16116 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16117 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16118 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16119 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16120 even know what a news group is.
16122 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16123 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16124 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16125 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16126 you mad in the end.
16128 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16131 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16132 interfaces to these sources.
16136 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16137 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
16138 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
16139 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
16140 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16141 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16144 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16145 alternatives to work.
16147 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16148 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16149 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16150 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16151 though, you should be ok.
16153 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16154 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16155 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16156 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16157 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16159 @node Archiving Mail
16160 @subsection Archiving Mail
16161 @cindex archiving mail
16162 @cindex backup of mail
16164 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16165 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16166 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16167 marks is fairly simple.
16169 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16170 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16173 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16174 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16175 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16176 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16177 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16178 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16179 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16180 before you restore the data.
16182 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16183 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16184 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16185 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16186 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16187 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16188 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16189 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16190 is unnecessary in that case.
16193 @subsection Web Searches
16198 @cindex Usenet searches
16199 @cindex searching the Usenet
16201 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16202 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16203 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16204 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16205 searches without having to use a browser.
16207 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16208 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16209 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16210 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16211 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16213 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16214 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16215 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16216 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16217 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16218 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16219 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16220 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16221 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16222 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16225 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16226 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16227 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16228 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16229 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16230 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16232 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16233 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16234 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16236 Virtual server variables:
16241 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16242 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16243 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16246 @vindex nnweb-search
16247 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16249 @item nnweb-max-hits
16250 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16251 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16254 @item nnweb-type-definition
16255 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16256 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16257 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16262 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16266 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16269 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16272 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16276 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16283 @subsection Slashdot
16287 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
16288 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
16289 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
16291 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
16292 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16295 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16296 '((nnslashdot "")))
16299 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
16300 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
16301 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
16302 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
16303 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
16306 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
16307 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16309 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
16310 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
16311 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
16312 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
16313 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
16314 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
16315 @acronym{HTML} forms.
16317 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
16320 @item nnslashdot-threaded
16321 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
16322 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
16323 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
16324 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
16325 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
16326 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
16328 @item nnslashdot-login-name
16329 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
16330 The login name to use when posting.
16332 @item nnslashdot-password
16333 @vindex nnslashdot-password
16334 The password to use when posting.
16336 @item nnslashdot-directory
16337 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
16338 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
16339 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
16341 @item nnslashdot-active-url
16342 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
16343 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
16344 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
16345 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
16347 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
16348 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
16349 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
16351 @item nnslashdot-article-url
16352 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
16353 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
16354 article. The default is
16355 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
16357 @item nnslashdot-threshold
16358 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
16359 The score threshold. The default is -1.
16361 @item nnslashdot-group-number
16362 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
16363 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
16364 updated. The default is 0.
16371 @subsection Ultimate
16373 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
16375 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
16376 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
16377 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
16378 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16380 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
16381 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
16382 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
16383 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
16384 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
16385 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
16386 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
16388 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
16391 @item nnultimate-directory
16392 @vindex nnultimate-directory
16393 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
16394 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
16399 @subsection Web Archive
16401 @cindex Web Archive
16403 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
16404 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
16405 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
16406 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
16409 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
16410 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
16411 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
16412 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
16413 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
16414 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
16415 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
16416 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
16418 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
16421 @item nnwarchive-directory
16422 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
16423 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
16424 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
16426 @item nnwarchive-login
16427 @vindex nnwarchive-login
16428 The account name on the web server.
16430 @item nnwarchive-passwd
16431 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
16432 The password for your account on the web server.
16440 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16441 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16442 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16443 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16444 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16446 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16447 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16449 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16450 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16451 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16454 @kindex G R (Group)
16455 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16456 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16457 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16458 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16460 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16461 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16462 subscribe to groups.
16464 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16465 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16466 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16467 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16468 variable. If it is @code{nil}, in Emacs the coding system defaults to
16469 the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system}. If you are using
16470 XEmacs and want to use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names, you should set
16471 the value for the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} variable properly.
16473 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
16474 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
16475 and a @samp{text/html} part.
16478 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
16479 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
16482 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
16483 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
16487 @defun nnrss-opml-export
16488 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
16489 @acronym{OPML} format.
16492 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
16495 @item nnrss-directory
16496 @vindex nnrss-directory
16497 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
16498 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16500 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
16501 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
16502 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
16503 data files. The default is the value of
16504 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
16505 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
16507 @item nnrss-use-local
16508 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16509 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16510 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16511 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16512 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16513 download script using @command{wget}.
16515 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
16516 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
16517 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
16518 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
16519 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
16520 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
16521 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
16522 @samp{text/html} parts.
16525 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16526 the summary buffer.
16529 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16530 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16532 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16534 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16535 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16538 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16542 (require 'browse-url)
16544 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16546 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16549 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16550 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16553 (browse-url (cdr url))
16554 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16555 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16557 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16558 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16559 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16560 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16563 Even if you have added @code{"text/html"} to the
16564 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
16565 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
16566 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
16567 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
16568 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
16569 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
16570 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
16571 @code{nnrss} groups:
16574 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
16575 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
16577 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
16578 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
16579 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
16581 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
16584 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
16588 @node Customizing W3
16589 @subsection Customizing W3
16595 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
16596 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
16597 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
16600 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
16601 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16602 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16605 (eval-after-load "w3"
16607 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16608 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16609 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16610 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16612 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16615 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
16616 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16623 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16625 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16626 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16627 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16628 specify the network address of the server.
16630 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16631 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16632 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16633 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16634 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16635 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16637 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16638 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16639 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16640 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16642 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16643 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16644 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16645 usage explained in this section.
16647 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16648 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16649 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16653 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16654 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16655 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16657 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16658 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16659 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16661 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16662 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16663 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16664 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16665 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16666 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16667 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16668 (nnimap-stream network))
16669 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16671 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16672 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16673 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16676 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16677 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16678 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16679 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16681 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16686 @item nnimap-address
16687 @vindex nnimap-address
16689 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16690 server name if not specified.
16692 @item nnimap-server-port
16693 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16694 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16696 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16699 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16700 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16703 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16704 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16705 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16706 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16707 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16708 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16709 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16711 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16712 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16713 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16716 Example server specification:
16719 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16720 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16721 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16724 @item nnimap-stream
16725 @vindex nnimap-stream
16726 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16727 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16728 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16729 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16730 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16732 Example server specification:
16735 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16736 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16739 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16743 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16744 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16746 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16748 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16749 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16752 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16753 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16755 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16756 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16758 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16760 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16763 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16764 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16765 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16766 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16767 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16768 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16769 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16770 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16771 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16774 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16775 needed. It is available from
16776 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16778 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16779 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16780 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16781 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16782 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16783 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16784 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16787 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16788 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16789 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16790 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16791 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16792 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16793 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16796 @vindex imap-shell-program
16797 @vindex imap-shell-host
16798 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16799 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16801 @item nnimap-authenticator
16802 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16804 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16805 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16807 Example server specification:
16810 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16811 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16814 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16818 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16819 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16821 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16824 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16825 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16827 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16829 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16831 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16834 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16836 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16837 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16838 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16839 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16840 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16841 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16844 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16845 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16846 running in circles yet?
16848 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16849 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16852 The possible options are:
16857 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16860 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16861 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16862 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16863 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16865 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16870 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16871 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16873 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16874 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16875 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16876 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16877 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16880 Probably the only reason for frobbing this would be if you're trying
16881 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16884 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16885 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16886 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16887 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16890 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16891 as ticked for other users.
16893 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16895 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16896 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
16898 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16899 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16900 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16901 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16903 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16904 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16905 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16906 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16908 However, if @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}
16909 is true, this variable has no effect since the search logic
16910 is reversed, as described below.
16912 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16913 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16915 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16916 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16917 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16918 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
16921 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
16924 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
16925 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
16926 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
16927 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
16930 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16931 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16933 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16934 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16937 @item nnimap-nov-is-evil
16938 @vindex nnimap-nov-is-evil
16939 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
16940 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
16942 Never generate or use a local @acronym{NOV} database. Defaults to the
16943 value of @code{gnus-agent}.
16945 Using a @acronym{NOV} database usually makes header fetching much
16946 faster, but it uses the @code{UID SEARCH UID} command, which is very
16947 slow on some servers (notably some versions of Courier). Since the Gnus
16948 Agent caches the information in the @acronym{NOV} database without using
16949 the slow command, this variable defaults to true if the Agent is in use,
16950 and false otherwise.
16952 @item nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
16953 @vindex nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
16954 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
16955 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
16957 Avoid the @code{UID SEARCH UID @var{message numbers} NOT SINCE
16958 @var{date}} command, which is slow on some @acronym{IMAP} servers
16959 (notably, some versions of Courier). Instead, use @code{UID SEARCH SINCE
16960 @var{date}} and prune the list of expirable articles within Gnus.
16962 When Gnus expires your mail (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), it starts with a
16963 list of expirable articles and asks the IMAP server questions like ``Of
16964 these articles, which ones are older than a week?'' While this seems
16965 like a perfectly reasonable question, some IMAP servers take a long time
16966 to answer it, since they seemingly go looking into every old article to
16967 see if it is one of the expirable ones. Curiously, the question ``Of
16968 @emph{all} articles, which ones are newer than a week?'' seems to be
16969 much faster to answer, so setting this variable causes Gnus to ask this
16970 question and figure out the answer to the real question itself.
16972 This problem can really sneak up on you: when you first configure Gnus,
16973 everything works fine, but once you accumulate a couple thousand
16974 messages, you start cursing Gnus for being so slow. On the other hand,
16975 if you get a lot of email within a week, setting this variable will
16976 cause a lot of network traffic between Gnus and the IMAP server.
16981 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16982 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16983 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16984 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16985 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16986 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16991 @node Splitting in IMAP
16992 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16993 @cindex splitting imap mail
16995 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16996 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16997 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16998 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16999 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
17003 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
17004 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
17005 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
17007 Here are the variables of interest:
17011 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
17012 @cindex splitting, crosspost
17014 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
17016 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
17017 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
17018 found will be used.
17020 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
17022 @item nnimap-split-inbox
17023 @cindex splitting, inbox
17025 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
17027 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
17028 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
17029 splitting is disabled!
17032 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
17033 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
17036 No nnmail equivalent.
17038 @item nnimap-split-rule
17039 @cindex splitting, rules
17040 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
17042 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
17045 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
17046 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
17047 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
17048 Neither did I, we need examples.
17051 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17053 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
17054 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
17055 ("INBOX.private" "")))
17058 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
17059 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
17060 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
17062 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
17063 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
17067 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
17070 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
17071 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
17073 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
17074 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
17075 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
17076 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
17078 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
17079 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
17080 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
17081 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
17082 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
17083 them every time you fetch new mail.)
17085 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
17086 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
17087 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
17089 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
17090 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
17091 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17093 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
17095 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
17096 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
17097 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
17100 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17101 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
17102 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
17103 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
17104 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
17105 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
17108 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
17109 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
17110 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
17111 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
17112 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
17113 group/function elements.
17115 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17117 @item nnimap-split-predicate
17119 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
17121 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
17122 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
17124 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
17125 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
17126 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
17129 @item nnimap-split-fancy
17130 @cindex splitting, fancy
17131 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
17132 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
17134 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17135 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
17136 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
17138 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
17139 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17140 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
17141 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17146 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
17147 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
17150 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
17152 @item nnimap-split-download-body
17153 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
17154 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
17156 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
17157 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
17158 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
17159 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
17163 @node Expiring in IMAP
17164 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
17165 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
17167 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
17168 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
17169 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
17170 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
17171 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
17172 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
17175 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
17176 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
17177 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
17178 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
17179 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
17180 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
17181 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
17182 messages. Most do, fortunately.
17184 If expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail seems very slow, try setting the server
17185 variable @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}.
17189 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
17190 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
17192 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
17193 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
17195 @item nnmail-expiry-target
17197 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
17198 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
17199 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
17200 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
17204 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
17205 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
17206 @cindex editing imap acls
17207 @cindex Access Control Lists
17208 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
17209 @kindex G l (Group)
17210 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
17212 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
17213 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
17214 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
17217 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
17218 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
17219 editing window with detailed instructions.
17221 Some possible uses:
17225 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
17226 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
17227 follow the list without subscribing to it.
17229 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
17230 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
17231 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
17235 @node Expunging mailboxes
17236 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
17240 @cindex manual expunging
17241 @kindex G x (Group)
17242 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
17244 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
17245 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
17246 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
17248 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
17251 @node A note on namespaces
17252 @subsection A note on namespaces
17253 @cindex IMAP namespace
17256 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
17257 by the following text in the RFC2060:
17260 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
17262 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
17263 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
17264 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
17265 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
17267 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
17268 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
17269 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
17270 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
17271 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
17272 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
17275 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
17276 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
17277 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
17279 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
17280 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
17281 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
17282 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
17283 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
17284 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
17285 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
17286 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
17289 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
17290 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
17291 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
17293 @node Debugging IMAP
17294 @subsection Debugging IMAP
17295 @cindex IMAP debugging
17296 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
17298 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
17299 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
17300 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
17301 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
17303 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
17304 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
17305 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
17306 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
17307 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
17308 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
17309 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
17313 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
17314 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
17321 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
17322 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
17323 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
17324 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
17327 @node Other Sources
17328 @section Other Sources
17330 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17331 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17335 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17336 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17337 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17338 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
17339 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17343 @node Directory Groups
17344 @subsection Directory Groups
17346 @cindex directory groups
17348 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17349 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17352 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17353 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17354 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17355 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17357 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17358 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17359 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17360 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17361 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17363 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17365 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17366 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17367 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17368 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17371 @node Anything Groups
17372 @subsection Anything Groups
17375 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17376 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17377 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17380 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17381 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17382 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17383 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17384 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17385 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17386 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17387 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17388 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17389 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17392 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17393 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17394 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17395 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17397 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17398 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17399 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17400 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17402 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17403 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17404 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17405 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17406 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17407 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17408 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17409 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17414 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17415 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17416 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17417 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17419 @item nneething-exclude-files
17420 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17421 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17422 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17424 @item nneething-include-files
17425 @vindex nneething-include-files
17426 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17427 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17429 @item nneething-map-file
17430 @vindex nneething-map-file
17431 Name of the map files.
17435 @node Document Groups
17436 @subsection Document Groups
17438 @cindex documentation group
17441 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17442 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17448 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
17453 The standard Unix mbox file.
17455 @cindex MMDF mail box
17457 The MMDF mail box format.
17460 Several news articles appended into a file.
17462 @cindex rnews batch files
17464 The rnews batch transport format.
17467 Netscape mail boxes.
17470 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17472 @item standard-digest
17473 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17476 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17478 @item lanl-gov-announce
17479 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17481 @cindex forwarded messages
17482 @item rfc822-forward
17483 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17486 The Outlook mail box.
17489 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17492 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17495 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17498 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17504 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17507 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17513 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17514 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17515 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17518 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17519 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17520 group. And that's it.
17522 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17523 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17524 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17525 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17526 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17527 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17528 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17529 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17530 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17531 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17533 Virtual server variables:
17536 @item nndoc-article-type
17537 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17538 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17539 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17540 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17541 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17542 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17544 @item nndoc-post-type
17545 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17546 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17547 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17552 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17556 @node Document Server Internals
17557 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17559 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17560 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17561 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17562 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17564 First, here's an example document type definition:
17568 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17569 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17572 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17573 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17574 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17575 types can be defined with very few settings:
17578 @item first-article
17579 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17580 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17583 @item article-begin
17584 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17585 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17586 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17587 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17589 @item article-begin-function
17590 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17591 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17594 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17595 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17596 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17598 @item head-begin-function
17599 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17600 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17603 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17604 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17607 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17608 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17609 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17611 @item body-begin-function
17612 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17613 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17616 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17617 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17618 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17620 @item body-end-function
17621 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17622 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17625 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17626 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17629 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17630 regexp will be totally ignored.
17634 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17635 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17636 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17637 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17638 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17641 @item prepare-body-function
17642 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17643 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17644 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17646 @item article-transform-function
17647 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17648 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17649 body of the article.
17651 @item generate-head-function
17652 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17653 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17654 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17655 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17657 @item generate-article-function
17658 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17659 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17660 parameter when requesting all articles.
17662 @item dissection-function
17663 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17664 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17665 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17666 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17667 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17668 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17672 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17677 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17678 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17679 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17680 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17681 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17682 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17683 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17684 (subtype digest guess))
17687 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17688 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17689 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17690 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17691 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17693 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17694 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17695 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17696 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17697 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17698 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17699 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17700 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17701 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17702 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17703 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17704 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17712 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17713 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17714 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17716 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17717 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17718 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17721 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17722 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17723 that interested in doing things properly.
17725 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17726 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17729 First some terminology:
17734 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17735 get news and/or mail from.
17738 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17739 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17742 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17746 @item message packets
17747 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17748 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17749 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17751 @item response packets
17752 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17753 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17754 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17764 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17765 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17766 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17767 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17770 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17773 You put the packet in your home directory.
17776 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17777 the native or secondary server.
17780 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17781 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17784 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17788 You transfer this packet to the server.
17791 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17794 You then repeat until you die.
17798 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17799 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17802 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17803 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17804 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17808 @node SOUP Commands
17809 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17811 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17815 @kindex G s b (Group)
17816 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17817 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17818 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17819 process/prefix convention.
17822 @kindex G s w (Group)
17823 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17824 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17827 @kindex G s s (Group)
17828 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17829 Send all replies from the replies packet
17830 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17833 @kindex G s p (Group)
17834 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17835 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17838 @kindex G s r (Group)
17839 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17840 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17843 @kindex O s (Summary)
17844 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17845 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17846 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17847 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17852 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17857 @item gnus-soup-directory
17858 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17859 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17860 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17862 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17863 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17864 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17865 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17867 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17868 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17869 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17870 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17872 @item gnus-soup-packer
17873 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17874 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17875 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17877 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17878 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17879 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17880 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17882 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17883 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17884 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17886 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17887 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17888 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17889 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17895 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17898 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17899 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17900 you can read them at leisure.
17902 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17906 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17907 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17908 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17909 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17911 @item nnsoup-directory
17912 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17913 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17914 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17916 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17917 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17918 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17919 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17921 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17922 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17923 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17924 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17925 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17927 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17928 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17929 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17930 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17932 @item nnsoup-active-file
17933 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17934 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17935 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17936 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17937 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17939 @item nnsoup-packer
17940 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17941 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17942 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17944 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17945 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17946 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17947 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17949 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17950 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17951 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17954 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17955 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17956 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17959 @item nnsoup-always-save
17960 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17961 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17967 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17969 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17970 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17971 more for that to happen.
17973 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17974 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17975 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17978 In specific, this is what it does:
17981 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17982 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17985 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17986 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17987 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17990 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17991 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17992 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17995 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17996 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17997 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17999 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
18005 @item nngateway-address
18006 @vindex nngateway-address
18007 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
18009 @item nngateway-header-transformation
18010 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
18011 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
18012 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
18013 transformation should be called, and defaults to
18014 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
18015 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
18018 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
18019 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
18020 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
18023 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
18026 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
18029 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
18032 The following pre-defined functions exist:
18034 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18037 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18038 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18039 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
18041 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18043 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18044 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18045 @code{nngateway-address}.
18053 (setq gnus-post-method
18055 "mail2news@@replay.com"
18056 (nngateway-header-transformation
18057 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
18060 So, to use this, simply say something like:
18063 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
18068 @node Combined Groups
18069 @section Combined Groups
18071 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
18075 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
18076 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
18080 @node Virtual Groups
18081 @subsection Virtual Groups
18083 @cindex virtual groups
18084 @cindex merging groups
18086 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
18089 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
18090 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
18091 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
18093 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
18094 regexp to match component groups.
18096 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
18097 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
18098 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
18099 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
18100 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
18101 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
18102 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
18103 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
18105 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
18106 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
18109 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
18112 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
18113 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
18115 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
18116 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
18117 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
18118 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
18121 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
18124 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
18125 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
18126 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
18128 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
18129 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
18130 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
18131 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
18132 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
18134 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
18135 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
18136 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
18138 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
18139 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
18140 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
18141 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
18142 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
18143 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
18144 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
18145 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
18146 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
18147 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
18148 it---it'll have much the same effect.
18150 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
18151 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
18152 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
18153 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
18154 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
18155 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
18156 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
18158 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
18159 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
18161 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
18162 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
18166 @node Kibozed Groups
18167 @subsection Kibozed Groups
18171 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
18172 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
18173 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
18174 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
18176 @kindex G k (Group)
18177 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
18180 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
18181 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
18182 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
18183 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
18185 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
18186 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
18187 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
18189 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
18190 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
18191 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
18192 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
18193 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
18194 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
18195 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
18196 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
18198 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
18199 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
18200 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
18201 Stranger things have happened.
18203 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
18204 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
18206 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
18207 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
18208 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
18209 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
18210 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
18211 information on what groups have been searched through to find
18212 component articles.
18214 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
18215 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
18218 @node Email Based Diary
18219 @section Email Based Diary
18221 @cindex email based diary
18224 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
18225 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
18226 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
18227 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
18228 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
18229 namely, as event reminders.
18231 Here is a typical scenario:
18235 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
18236 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
18238 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
18240 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
18242 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
18243 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
18244 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
18246 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
18247 of the night you're gonna have.
18249 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
18250 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
18253 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
18254 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
18255 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
18256 explained in the sections below.
18259 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
18260 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
18261 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
18265 @node The NNDiary Back End
18266 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
18268 @cindex the nndiary back end
18270 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
18271 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
18272 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
18273 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
18274 directory per group.
18276 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
18277 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
18278 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
18279 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
18282 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
18283 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
18284 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
18287 @node Diary Messages
18288 @subsubsection Diary Messages
18289 @cindex nndiary messages
18290 @cindex nndiary mails
18292 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
18293 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
18294 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
18295 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
18296 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
18297 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
18298 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
18302 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
18303 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
18304 (separated by a comma).
18306 A field is either an integer, or a range.
18308 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
18310 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
18311 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
18312 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
18314 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
18315 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
18316 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
18318 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
18319 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
18320 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
18321 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
18322 list of available time zone values, see the variable
18323 @code{nndiary-headers}.
18326 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
18327 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
18328 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
18333 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
18336 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
18338 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
18341 @node Running NNDiary
18342 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18343 @cindex running nndiary
18344 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18346 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18347 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18348 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18349 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18350 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18351 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18353 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18354 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18355 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18356 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18357 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18358 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18359 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18362 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18367 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18368 line in your @file{gnusrc} file:
18371 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18374 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18375 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18376 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18377 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18378 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18380 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18381 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18390 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18391 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18393 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18394 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18395 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18396 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18399 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18400 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18401 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18404 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18405 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18406 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18408 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18409 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18410 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18411 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18412 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18414 @node Customizing NNDiary
18415 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18416 @cindex customizing nndiary
18417 @cindex nndiary customization
18419 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18420 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18421 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18422 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18424 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18425 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18426 appointements (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18427 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18428 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18432 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18433 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18438 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18439 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18441 @cindex the gnus diary library
18443 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18444 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18445 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18446 useful things for you.
18448 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{gnusrc} file:
18451 (require 'gnus-diary)
18454 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18455 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18456 (sorry if you used them before).
18460 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18461 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18462 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18463 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18466 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18467 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18468 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18469 @cindex diary summary line format
18471 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18472 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18473 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18474 see the event's date.
18476 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18477 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18478 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18479 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18480 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18482 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18483 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18484 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18487 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18490 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18491 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18494 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18497 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18498 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18499 with the following user options:
18501 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18502 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18503 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18504 diary groups'parameters.
18507 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18508 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18509 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18512 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18513 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18514 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18515 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18516 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18519 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18520 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18521 @cindex diary articles sorting
18522 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18523 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18524 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18525 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18527 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18528 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18529 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18530 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18531 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18533 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18534 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18535 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18536 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18539 @node Diary Headers Generation
18540 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18541 @cindex diary headers generation
18542 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18544 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18545 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18546 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18547 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18550 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18551 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18552 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c D c} in @code{message-mode}
18553 and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the process of converting
18554 a usual mail to a diary one.
18556 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18557 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18558 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18561 @node Diary Group Parameters
18562 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18563 @cindex diary group parameters
18565 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18566 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18567 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18568 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18569 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18570 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18571 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18572 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18574 @node Sending or Not Sending
18575 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18577 Well, assuming you've read of of the above, here are two final notes on
18578 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18582 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18583 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18584 appointements to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18585 sending the diary message to them as well.
18587 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18588 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18589 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18590 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18593 @node Gnus Unplugged
18594 @section Gnus Unplugged
18599 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18601 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18602 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18603 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18604 read news. Believe it or not.
18606 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18607 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18608 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18609 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18610 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18612 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18613 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18614 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18615 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18616 reading news on a machine.
18618 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18619 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18620 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18622 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18625 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18626 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18627 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18628 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18629 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18630 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18631 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18632 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18633 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18634 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18635 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18636 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18637 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18638 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18643 @subsection Agent Basics
18645 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18647 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18648 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18649 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18650 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18652 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18653 connected to the net continuously.
18655 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18656 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18658 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18659 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18660 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18661 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18662 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18664 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18665 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18666 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18667 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18668 they're kinda like plugged always).
18670 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18671 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18672 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18675 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18676 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18677 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18678 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18679 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18681 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18686 @findex gnus-unplugged
18687 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18688 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18689 already fetched while in this mode.
18692 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18693 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18694 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18695 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18696 Source Specifiers}).
18699 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18700 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18701 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18702 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18703 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18706 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18707 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18708 then you read the news offline.
18711 And then you go to step 2.
18714 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18720 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18721 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18722 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18723 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18724 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18725 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18726 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18727 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18730 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18731 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18732 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18733 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18735 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18736 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18737 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18738 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18739 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18740 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18744 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18748 @node Agent Categories
18749 @subsection Agent Categories
18751 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18752 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18753 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18754 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18755 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18756 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18757 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18759 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18760 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18761 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18762 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18763 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18765 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18766 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18767 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18768 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18769 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18772 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18773 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18774 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18775 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18776 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18777 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18781 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18782 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18783 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18787 @node Category Syntax
18788 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18790 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18791 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18792 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18795 @cindex Agent Parameters
18798 The list of groups that are in this category.
18800 @item agent-predicate
18801 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18802 are eligible for downloading; and
18805 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18806 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18807 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18809 @item agent-enable-expiration
18810 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18811 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18812 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18813 only groups that should not be expired.
18815 @item agent-days-until-old
18816 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18817 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18819 @item agent-low-score
18820 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18822 @item agent-high-score
18823 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18825 @item agent-short-article
18826 an integer that overrides the value of
18827 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18829 @item agent-long-article
18830 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18832 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18833 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18834 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18835 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18836 undownloaded faces.
18839 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18842 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18843 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18844 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18847 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18848 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18849 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18850 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18852 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18853 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18854 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18856 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18857 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18858 operators sprinkled in between.
18860 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18862 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18863 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18869 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18870 short (for some value of ``short'').
18872 Here's a more complex predicate:
18881 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18882 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18885 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18886 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18887 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18889 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18890 you want to do, you can write your own.
18892 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18893 bound to the value determined by calling
18894 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18895 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18896 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18897 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18898 predicate to individual groups.
18902 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18903 lines; default 100.
18906 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18907 lines; default 200.
18910 True iff the article has a download score less than
18911 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18914 True iff the article has a download score greater than
18915 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18918 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18919 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18920 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18929 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18930 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18931 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18934 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18935 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18936 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18937 something along the lines of the following:
18940 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18941 "Say whether an article is old."
18942 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18943 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18946 with the predicate then defined as:
18949 (not my-article-old-p)
18952 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18953 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18957 (require 'gnus-agent)
18958 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18959 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18960 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18963 and simply specify your predicate as:
18969 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18970 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18971 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18972 just don't give a damn.
18974 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18975 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18976 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18977 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18978 parameters like so:
18981 (agent-predicate . short)
18984 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18985 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18986 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18988 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18991 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18994 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18995 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18996 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18999 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
19000 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
19001 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
19002 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
19003 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
19004 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
19006 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
19007 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
19008 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
19009 if it's to be specific to that group.
19011 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
19018 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
19019 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
19025 Category specification
19029 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19035 Group/Topic Parameter specification
19038 (agent-score ("from"
19039 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19044 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
19050 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
19051 keywords stated above.
19057 Category specification
19060 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
19066 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
19070 Group Parameter specification
19073 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
19076 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
19081 Use @code{normal} score files
19083 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
19084 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
19085 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
19086 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
19088 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
19089 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
19090 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
19091 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
19095 Category Specification
19102 Group Parameter specification
19105 (agent-score . file)
19110 @node Category Buffer
19111 @subsubsection Category Buffer
19113 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
19114 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
19115 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
19117 The following commands are available in this buffer:
19121 @kindex q (Category)
19122 @findex gnus-category-exit
19123 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
19126 @kindex e (Category)
19127 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
19128 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
19129 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
19132 @kindex k (Category)
19133 @findex gnus-category-kill
19134 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
19137 @kindex c (Category)
19138 @findex gnus-category-copy
19139 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
19142 @kindex a (Category)
19143 @findex gnus-category-add
19144 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
19147 @kindex p (Category)
19148 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
19149 Edit the predicate of the current category
19150 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
19153 @kindex g (Category)
19154 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
19155 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
19156 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
19159 @kindex s (Category)
19160 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
19161 Edit the download score rule of the current category
19162 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
19165 @kindex l (Category)
19166 @findex gnus-category-list
19167 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
19171 @node Category Variables
19172 @subsubsection Category Variables
19175 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
19176 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
19177 Hook run in category buffers.
19179 @item gnus-category-line-format
19180 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
19181 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
19182 Variables}). Valid elements are:
19186 The name of the category.
19189 The number of groups in the category.
19192 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
19193 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
19194 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
19196 @item gnus-agent-short-article
19197 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
19198 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
19200 @item gnus-agent-long-article
19201 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
19202 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
19204 @item gnus-agent-low-score
19205 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
19206 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
19209 @item gnus-agent-high-score
19210 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
19211 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
19214 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
19215 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19216 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
19217 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
19218 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
19219 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
19220 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
19221 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
19225 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19226 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19227 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
19228 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
19229 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
19230 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
19231 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
19236 @node Agent Commands
19237 @subsection Agent Commands
19238 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
19239 @kindex J j (Agent)
19241 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
19242 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
19243 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
19247 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
19248 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
19249 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
19255 @node Group Agent Commands
19256 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
19260 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
19261 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
19262 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
19263 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
19266 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
19267 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
19268 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
19271 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
19272 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
19273 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
19274 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
19277 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
19278 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
19279 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
19280 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
19283 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
19284 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
19285 Add the current group to an Agent category
19286 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
19287 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19290 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
19291 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
19292 Remove the current group from its category, if any
19293 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
19294 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19297 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
19298 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19299 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
19305 @node Summary Agent Commands
19306 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
19310 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
19311 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
19312 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
19315 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
19316 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
19317 Remove the downloading mark from the article
19318 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
19322 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
19323 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
19324 Toggle whether to download the article
19325 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
19329 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
19330 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
19331 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
19334 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
19335 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
19336 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
19337 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
19340 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
19341 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
19342 Download all processable articles in this group.
19343 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19346 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19347 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19348 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19349 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19354 @node Server Agent Commands
19355 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19359 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19360 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19361 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19362 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19365 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19366 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19367 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19368 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19373 @node Agent Visuals
19374 @subsection Agent Visuals
19376 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19377 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19378 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19379 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19380 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19381 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19382 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19383 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19384 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19385 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19387 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19388 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19389 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19390 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19391 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19392 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19393 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19394 articles will be available when unplugged.
19396 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19397 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19398 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19399 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19400 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19401 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19402 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19403 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19405 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19406 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19407 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19408 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19409 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19410 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19411 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19412 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19413 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19415 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19416 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19417 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19418 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19419 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19420 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19421 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19422 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19423 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19424 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19426 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19427 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19428 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19429 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19430 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19431 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19433 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19434 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19435 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19436 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19437 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19438 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19439 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19440 expiring'' articles.
19442 @node Agent as Cache
19443 @subsection Agent as Cache
19445 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19446 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19447 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19448 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19449 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19450 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19451 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19452 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19453 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19455 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19456 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19457 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19458 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19459 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19462 @subsection Agent Expiry
19464 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19465 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19466 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19467 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19468 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19469 @cindex agent expiry
19470 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19471 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
19473 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19474 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19475 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19476 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19477 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19478 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19479 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19480 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19482 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19483 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19484 synchronized with the group.
19486 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19487 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19489 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19490 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19491 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19492 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19493 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19494 be kept indefinitely.
19496 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19497 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19498 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19499 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19501 @node Agent Regeneration
19502 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19504 @cindex agent regeneration
19505 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19506 @cindex regeneration
19508 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19509 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19510 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19511 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19512 internal inconsistencies.
19514 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19515 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19516 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19517 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19518 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19519 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19521 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19522 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19523 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19524 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19525 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19526 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19528 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19529 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19530 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19531 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19532 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19533 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19536 @node Agent and flags
19537 @subsection Agent and flags
19539 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19540 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19541 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19542 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19543 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19544 to the flags in its own files.
19546 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19547 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19548 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19550 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19551 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19552 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19553 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19554 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19555 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19557 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19558 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19559 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19560 in the group buffer.
19562 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19563 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19564 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19565 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19566 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19567 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19568 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19569 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19571 @node Agent and IMAP
19572 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19574 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19575 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19576 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19577 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19579 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19580 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19585 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19588 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19592 @node Outgoing Messages
19593 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19595 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19596 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19597 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19599 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19600 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19601 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19603 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19604 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19605 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19606 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19609 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19610 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19611 ask you to confirm your action (see
19612 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19614 @node Agent Variables
19615 @subsection Agent Variables
19620 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19621 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19622 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19623 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19625 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19626 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19629 @item gnus-agent-directory
19630 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19631 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19632 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19634 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19635 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19636 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19637 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19638 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19641 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19642 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19643 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19645 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19646 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19647 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19649 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19650 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19651 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19653 @item gnus-agent-cache
19654 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19655 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19656 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19657 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19659 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19660 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19661 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19662 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19663 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19664 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19665 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19668 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19669 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19670 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19671 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19672 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19673 read. The default is @code{t}.
19675 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19676 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19677 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19678 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19679 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19680 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19681 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19683 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19684 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19685 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19686 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19687 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19688 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19689 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19690 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19691 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19692 over and over again.
19694 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19695 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19696 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19697 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19698 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19699 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19700 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19701 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19702 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19703 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19704 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19705 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19708 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19709 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19710 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19711 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19712 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19713 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19714 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19715 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19716 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19718 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19719 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19720 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19721 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19722 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19723 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19725 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19726 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19727 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19728 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19729 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19731 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19732 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19733 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19734 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19735 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19736 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19738 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19739 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19740 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19741 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19742 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19744 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19745 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19746 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19747 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19748 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19749 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19750 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19751 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19752 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19753 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19754 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19759 @node Example Setup
19760 @subsection Example Setup
19762 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19763 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19764 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19767 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19768 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19769 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19771 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19772 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19773 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19775 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19776 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19778 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19779 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19780 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19783 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19784 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19787 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19788 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19789 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19790 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19791 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19794 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19795 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19796 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19797 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19798 back all the killed groups.)
19800 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19801 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19802 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19805 @node Batching Agents
19806 @subsection Batching Agents
19807 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19809 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19810 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19811 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19813 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19814 following incantation:
19818 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19822 @node Agent Caveats
19823 @subsection Agent Caveats
19825 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19826 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19830 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19832 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19833 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19834 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19836 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19837 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19839 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19843 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19844 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19845 locally stored articles.
19852 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19853 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19854 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19857 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19858 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19859 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19860 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19861 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19863 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19864 before generating the summary buffer.
19866 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19867 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19868 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19870 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19871 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19872 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19873 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19876 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19877 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19878 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19879 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19880 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19881 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19882 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19883 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19884 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19885 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19886 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19887 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19888 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19889 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19890 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19891 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19895 @node Summary Score Commands
19896 @section Summary Score Commands
19897 @cindex score commands
19899 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19900 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19901 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19902 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19903 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19905 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19906 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19907 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19908 score file the current one.
19910 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19915 @kindex V s (Summary)
19916 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19917 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19920 @kindex V S (Summary)
19921 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19922 Display the score of the current article
19923 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19926 @kindex V t (Summary)
19927 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19928 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19929 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19930 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19931 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19932 score file and edit it.
19935 @kindex V w (Summary)
19936 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19937 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19940 @kindex V R (Summary)
19941 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19942 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19943 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19944 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19945 effect you're having.
19948 @kindex V c (Summary)
19949 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19950 Make a different score file the current
19951 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19954 @kindex V e (Summary)
19955 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19956 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19957 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19961 @kindex V f (Summary)
19962 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19963 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19964 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19967 @kindex V F (Summary)
19968 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19969 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19970 after editing score files.
19973 @kindex V C (Summary)
19974 @findex gnus-score-customize
19975 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19976 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19980 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19985 @kindex V m (Summary)
19986 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19987 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19988 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19991 @kindex V x (Summary)
19992 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19993 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19994 expunge all articles below this score
19995 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19998 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19999 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
20002 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
20003 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
20007 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
20008 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
20010 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
20011 keys are available:
20015 Score on the author name.
20018 Score on the subject line.
20021 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
20024 Score on the @code{References} line.
20030 Score on the number of lines.
20033 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
20036 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
20037 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
20040 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
20041 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
20042 @file{ADAPT} files.)
20051 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
20057 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
20058 what headers you are scoring on.
20070 Substring matching.
20073 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
20102 Greater than number.
20107 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
20108 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
20109 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
20114 Temporary score entry.
20117 Permanent score entry.
20120 Immediately scoring.
20124 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
20125 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
20126 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
20130 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
20131 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
20132 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
20133 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
20135 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
20136 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
20137 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
20138 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
20139 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
20141 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
20142 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
20143 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
20144 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
20145 current score file.
20147 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
20148 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
20149 pretend they are keymaps or not.
20152 @node Group Score Commands
20153 @section Group Score Commands
20154 @cindex group score commands
20156 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
20161 @kindex W e (Group)
20162 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
20163 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
20164 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
20167 @kindex W f (Group)
20168 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20169 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
20170 all the time. This command will flush the cache
20171 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
20175 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
20177 @findex gnus-batch-score
20178 @cindex batch scoring
20180 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
20184 @node Score Variables
20185 @section Score Variables
20186 @cindex score variables
20190 @item gnus-use-scoring
20191 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
20192 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
20193 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
20195 @item gnus-kill-killed
20196 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
20197 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
20198 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
20199 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
20200 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
20201 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
20202 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
20204 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
20205 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
20206 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
20207 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
20208 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
20210 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
20211 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
20212 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
20213 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
20215 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20216 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20217 @cindex score cache
20218 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
20219 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
20220 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
20221 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
20222 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
20223 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
20224 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
20227 @item gnus-save-score
20228 @vindex gnus-save-score
20229 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
20230 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
20231 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20233 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
20234 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
20235 across group visits.
20237 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20238 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20239 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
20240 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
20241 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
20242 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
20243 manually entered data.
20245 @item gnus-summary-default-score
20246 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
20247 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
20249 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
20250 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
20251 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
20252 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
20253 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
20254 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
20256 @item gnus-score-over-mark
20257 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
20258 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
20259 default. Default is @samp{+}.
20261 @item gnus-score-below-mark
20262 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
20263 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
20264 default. Default is @samp{-}.
20266 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20267 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20268 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
20269 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
20271 Predefined functions available are:
20274 @item gnus-score-find-single
20275 @findex gnus-score-find-single
20276 Only apply the group's own score file.
20278 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
20279 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
20280 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
20281 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
20282 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
20283 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
20284 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
20285 then a regexp match is done.
20287 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
20288 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
20290 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
20291 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
20292 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
20293 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
20295 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20296 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20297 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
20298 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
20299 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
20303 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
20304 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
20305 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
20306 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
20307 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
20308 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
20309 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
20312 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
20313 overall score file, you could use the value
20315 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
20316 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
20319 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
20320 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
20321 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
20322 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
20323 are expired. It's 7 by default.
20325 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20326 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20327 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
20328 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
20329 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
20330 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
20331 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
20332 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
20334 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20335 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20336 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
20338 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
20339 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
20340 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
20341 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
20342 threading---according to the current value of
20343 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20344 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20345 simplified in this manner.
20350 @node Score File Format
20351 @section Score File Format
20352 @cindex score file format
20354 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20355 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20356 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20358 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20362 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20364 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20366 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20368 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20373 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20377 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20378 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20379 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20380 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20384 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20385 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20387 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20388 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20389 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20391 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20396 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20397 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20398 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20399 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20400 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20401 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20402 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20403 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20404 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20405 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20406 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20407 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20408 to articles that matches these score entries.
20410 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20411 score entry has one to four elements.
20415 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20416 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20420 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20421 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20422 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20423 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20424 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20425 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20428 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20429 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20430 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20431 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20432 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20435 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20436 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20437 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20438 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20441 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20442 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20443 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20444 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20445 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20446 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20447 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20448 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20449 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20450 instead, if you feel like.
20453 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20454 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20455 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20456 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20457 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20458 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20462 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20463 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20467 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20468 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20470 These predicates are true if
20473 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20476 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20477 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20484 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20485 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20486 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20487 it's not. I think.)
20489 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20490 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20491 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20492 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20495 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20496 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20497 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20498 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20499 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20500 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20501 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20505 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20506 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20507 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20508 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20509 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20510 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20511 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20512 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20515 @item Head, Body, All
20516 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20520 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20521 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20522 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20523 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20524 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20525 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20526 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20530 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20531 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20532 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20533 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20534 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20535 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20536 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20537 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20538 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20539 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20540 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20544 @cindex score file atoms
20546 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20547 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20550 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20551 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20553 @item mark-and-expunge
20554 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20555 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20558 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20559 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20560 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20561 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20562 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20565 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20566 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20569 @item exclude-files
20570 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20571 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20575 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
20576 ignored when handling global score files.
20579 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20580 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20581 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20582 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20585 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20586 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20587 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20588 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20590 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20594 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20597 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20598 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20599 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
20600 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20601 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20603 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20604 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20605 scoring rules exist.
20608 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20609 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20610 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20611 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20612 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20613 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20614 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20615 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20616 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20617 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20618 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20622 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20623 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20624 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20625 file for a number of groups.
20628 @cindex local variables
20629 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20630 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20631 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20632 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20633 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20638 @node Score File Editing
20639 @section Score File Editing
20641 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20642 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20643 with a mode for that.
20645 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20646 additional commands:
20651 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20652 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
20653 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20654 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
20657 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20658 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20659 Insert the current date in numerical format
20660 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20661 you were wondering.
20664 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20665 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20666 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20667 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20668 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20673 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20675 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20676 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20678 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20679 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20682 @node Adaptive Scoring
20683 @section Adaptive Scoring
20684 @cindex adaptive scoring
20686 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20687 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20688 stupidity, to be precise.
20690 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20691 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20692 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20693 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20694 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20695 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20696 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20697 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20698 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20700 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20701 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20702 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20703 might look something like this:
20706 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20707 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20708 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20709 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20710 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20711 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20712 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20713 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20714 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20715 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20716 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20717 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20720 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20721 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20722 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20723 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20724 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20725 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20728 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20729 will be applied to each article.
20731 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20732 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20733 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20734 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20736 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20737 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20738 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20739 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20741 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20742 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20743 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20744 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20746 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20747 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20748 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20749 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20750 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20751 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20753 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20754 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20755 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20757 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20758 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20759 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20761 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20762 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20763 let you use different rules in different groups.
20765 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20766 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20767 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20770 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20771 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20772 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20773 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20775 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20776 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20777 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20778 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20779 the length of the match is less than
20780 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20781 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20784 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20785 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20786 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20787 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20788 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20791 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20792 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20793 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20794 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20795 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20798 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20799 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20800 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20801 score with 30 points.
20803 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20804 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20805 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20806 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20807 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20809 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20810 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20811 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20812 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20813 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20815 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20816 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20817 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20818 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20820 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20821 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20822 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20823 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20825 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20826 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20827 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20828 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20829 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20831 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20832 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20833 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20835 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20836 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20837 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20838 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20841 @node Home Score File
20842 @section Home Score File
20844 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20845 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20846 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20847 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20849 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20850 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20851 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20853 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20854 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20859 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20863 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20864 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20868 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20872 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20873 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20876 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20877 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20878 name of the group as the parameter.
20881 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20884 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20889 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20892 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20893 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20896 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20897 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20899 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20901 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20902 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20905 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20906 Other functions include
20909 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20910 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20911 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20912 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20916 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20917 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20918 their own home score files:
20921 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20922 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20923 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20924 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20925 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20928 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20929 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20930 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20931 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20932 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20934 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20935 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20936 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20937 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20938 precedence over this variable.
20941 @node Followups To Yourself
20942 @section Followups To Yourself
20944 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20945 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20946 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20947 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20948 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20949 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20953 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20954 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20955 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20958 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20959 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20960 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20964 @vindex message-sent-hook
20965 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20966 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20968 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20972 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20973 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20977 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20978 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20981 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20982 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20987 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20991 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20992 is system-dependent.
20995 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20996 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20997 @cindex scoring on other headers
20999 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
21000 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
21001 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
21002 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
21003 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
21005 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
21006 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
21007 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
21008 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
21009 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
21011 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21014 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
21015 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
21018 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
21019 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
21020 time if you have much mail.
21022 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
21023 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
21029 @section Scoring Tips
21030 @cindex scoring tips
21036 @cindex scoring crossposts
21037 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
21038 the @code{Xref} header.
21040 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
21043 @item Multiple crossposts
21044 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
21045 more than, say, 3 groups:
21048 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
21052 @item Matching on the body
21053 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
21054 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
21055 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
21056 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
21057 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
21058 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
21059 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
21062 @item Marking as read
21063 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
21064 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
21065 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
21069 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
21071 @item Negated character classes
21072 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
21073 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
21074 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
21078 @node Reverse Scoring
21079 @section Reverse Scoring
21080 @cindex reverse scoring
21082 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
21083 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
21084 like this in your score file:
21088 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
21093 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
21094 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
21097 @node Global Score Files
21098 @section Global Score Files
21099 @cindex global score files
21101 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
21102 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
21103 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
21105 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
21106 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
21107 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
21109 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
21110 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
21111 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
21112 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
21113 files are applicable to which group.
21115 To use the score file
21116 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
21117 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
21121 (setq gnus-global-score-files
21122 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
21123 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
21126 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
21128 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
21129 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
21130 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
21131 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
21133 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
21134 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
21136 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
21137 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
21138 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
21139 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
21140 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
21141 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
21143 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
21149 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
21151 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
21153 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
21155 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
21156 lowered out of existence.
21158 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
21159 articles completely.
21162 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
21163 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
21164 old articles for a long time.
21167 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
21168 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
21169 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
21170 holding our breath yet?
21174 @section Kill Files
21177 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
21178 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
21179 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
21181 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
21182 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
21183 files into score files.
21185 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
21186 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
21187 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
21188 that isn't a very good idea.
21190 Normal kill files look like this:
21193 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21194 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
21198 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
21199 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
21201 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
21202 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
21205 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
21210 @kindex M-k (Summary)
21211 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
21212 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
21215 @kindex M-K (Summary)
21216 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
21217 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
21220 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
21225 @kindex M-k (Group)
21226 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
21227 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
21230 @kindex M-K (Group)
21231 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
21232 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
21235 Kill file variables:
21238 @item gnus-kill-file-name
21239 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
21240 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
21241 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
21242 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
21243 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
21244 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
21246 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21247 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21248 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
21249 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
21252 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
21253 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
21254 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
21255 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
21256 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
21257 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
21258 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
21259 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
21260 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
21262 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21263 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21264 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
21269 @node Converting Kill Files
21270 @section Converting Kill Files
21272 @cindex converting kill files
21274 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
21275 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
21276 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
21279 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
21280 You can fetch it from
21281 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
21283 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
21284 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
21285 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
21289 @node Advanced Scoring
21290 @section Advanced Scoring
21292 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
21293 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
21294 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
21295 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
21296 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
21298 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
21302 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
21303 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
21304 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
21308 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
21309 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
21311 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
21312 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
21313 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
21314 non-@code{nil} value.
21316 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
21317 operator, and various match operators.
21324 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21325 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
21326 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
21331 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21332 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
21333 then this operator will return @code{false}.
21338 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
21339 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21343 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21344 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21345 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21346 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21347 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21348 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21349 the ancestry you want to go.
21351 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21352 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21353 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21354 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21355 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21358 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21359 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21361 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21362 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21365 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21366 when he's talking about Gnus:
21371 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21372 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21379 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21383 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21390 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21391 really don't want to read what he's written:
21395 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21396 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
21400 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21401 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21402 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21409 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21410 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21411 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21412 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21416 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21417 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21418 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21419 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21422 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21424 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21428 The possibilities are endless.
21430 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21431 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21433 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21434 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21435 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21436 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21437 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21438 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21439 @samp{subject}) first.
21441 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21442 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21453 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21454 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21460 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21467 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21468 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21473 @section Score Decays
21474 @cindex score decays
21477 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21478 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21479 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21480 use them in any sensible way.
21482 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21483 @findex gnus-decay-score
21484 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21485 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21486 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21487 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21488 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21489 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21490 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21491 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21492 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21493 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21497 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21498 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21499 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21501 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21503 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21505 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21506 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21507 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21508 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21509 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21511 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21515 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21516 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21517 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21518 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21522 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21525 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21528 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21532 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21533 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21534 the new score, which should be an integer.
21536 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21537 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21542 @include message.texi
21543 @chapter Emacs MIME
21544 @include emacs-mime.texi
21546 @include sieve.texi
21558 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21559 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21560 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21561 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21562 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21563 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21564 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21565 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21566 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21567 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21568 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21569 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
21570 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21571 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21572 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21573 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21574 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21575 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21576 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
21577 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
21578 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21579 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21583 @node Process/Prefix
21584 @section Process/Prefix
21585 @cindex process/prefix convention
21587 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21588 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21590 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21591 command to be performed on.
21595 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21596 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21597 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21598 with the current one.
21600 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21601 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21602 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21604 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21605 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21608 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21609 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21611 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21614 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21615 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21616 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21617 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21619 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21620 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21621 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21622 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21623 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21624 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21625 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21626 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21628 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21629 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21630 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21631 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21632 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21636 @section Interactive
21637 @cindex interaction
21641 @item gnus-novice-user
21642 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21643 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21644 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21645 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21646 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21649 @item gnus-expert-user
21650 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21651 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21652 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
21653 matter how strange.
21655 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21656 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21657 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21658 is @code{t} by default.
21660 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21661 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21662 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21667 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21668 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21669 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21671 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21672 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21673 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21674 rule of 900 to the current article.
21676 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21677 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21678 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21679 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21680 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21681 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21682 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21684 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21685 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21686 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21687 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21688 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21689 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21690 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21691 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21692 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21694 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21695 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21696 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21698 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21702 @node Formatting Variables
21703 @section Formatting Variables
21704 @cindex formatting variables
21706 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21707 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21708 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21709 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21710 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21713 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21714 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21715 lots of percentages everywhere.
21718 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21719 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21720 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21721 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21722 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21723 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21724 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21725 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21728 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21729 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21730 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21731 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21732 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21733 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21734 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21735 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21737 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21738 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21740 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21741 @findex gnus-update-format
21742 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21743 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21744 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21745 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21749 @node Formatting Basics
21750 @subsection Formatting Basics
21752 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21753 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21754 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21756 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21757 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21758 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21759 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21760 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21763 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21764 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21765 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21766 less than 4 characters wide.
21768 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21769 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21772 @node Mode Line Formatting
21773 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21775 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21776 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21777 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21778 with the following two differences:
21783 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21786 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21787 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
21788 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
21789 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
21790 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
21791 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
21792 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
21797 @node Advanced Formatting
21798 @subsection Advanced Formatting
21800 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
21801 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
21802 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
21803 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
21805 These are the valid modifiers:
21810 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
21814 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
21819 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
21822 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
21827 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
21830 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
21833 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
21836 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
21842 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
21847 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
21848 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
21849 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
21850 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
21851 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
21852 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
21853 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
21855 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
21856 last operation, padding.
21858 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
21859 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
21860 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
21861 @xref{Compilation}.
21864 @node User-Defined Specs
21865 @subsection User-Defined Specs
21867 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
21868 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
21869 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
21870 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
21871 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
21872 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
21873 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
21874 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
21875 should protect against that.
21877 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
21878 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
21880 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
21881 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
21882 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
21883 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
21887 @node Formatting Fonts
21888 @subsection Formatting Fonts
21890 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
21891 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
21892 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
21893 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
21896 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
21897 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
21898 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
21899 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
21900 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
21901 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
21903 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
21904 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
21905 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
21906 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
21907 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
21908 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
21909 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
21910 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
21911 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
21912 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
21913 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
21916 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
21919 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
21920 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
21921 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
21923 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
21924 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
21925 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
21926 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
21927 ;; @r{Set the color.}
21928 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
21929 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
21931 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
21932 (setq gnus-group-line-format
21933 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
21936 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
21937 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
21939 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
21940 mode-line variables.
21942 @node Positioning Point
21943 @subsection Positioning Point
21945 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
21946 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
21947 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
21949 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
21951 @findex gnus-goto-colon
21952 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
21953 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
21955 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
21956 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
21957 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
21962 @subsection Tabulation
21964 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
21965 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
21966 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
21967 about lining up the following text afterwards.
21969 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
21970 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
21972 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
21973 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
21974 This is the soft tabulator.
21976 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
21977 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
21978 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
21981 @node Wide Characters
21982 @subsection Wide Characters
21984 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
21985 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
21986 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
21988 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
21989 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
21990 these countries, that's not true.
21992 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
21993 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
21994 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
21995 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
21999 @node Window Layout
22000 @section Window Layout
22001 @cindex window layout
22003 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22005 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22006 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22007 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22008 @code{t} by default.
22010 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22011 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22013 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22014 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22015 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22018 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
22019 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
22020 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22024 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22025 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22026 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22027 possible names is listed below.
22029 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22030 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22033 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22037 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22038 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22039 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22040 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22041 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22042 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22043 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22044 size spec per split.
22046 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22047 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22048 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22049 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22050 present) gets focus.
22052 Here's a more complicated example:
22055 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22056 (summary 0.25 point)
22057 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
22061 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22062 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22063 occupy, not a percentage.
22065 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22066 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22067 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22068 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
22069 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
22072 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22075 (article (horizontal 1.0
22080 (summary 0.25 point)
22085 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22086 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22088 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22089 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22090 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22091 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22092 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22094 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22095 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22096 lines from the splits.
22098 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22103 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22104 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22105 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22106 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22107 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22108 size = number | frame-params
22109 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22113 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22114 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22115 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22116 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22118 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22119 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22120 @cindex window height
22121 @cindex window width
22122 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22123 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22124 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22125 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22126 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22127 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22129 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22130 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22131 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22132 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22134 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22135 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22136 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22137 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22138 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22139 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22140 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22141 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22142 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22143 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22144 configuration list.
22147 (gnus-configure-frame
22151 (article 0.3 point))
22159 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22160 @code{frame} split:
22163 (gnus-configure-frame
22166 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22168 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22169 (user-position . t)
22170 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22175 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22176 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22177 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22178 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22179 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22180 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22181 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22182 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22184 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22185 be found in its default value.
22187 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22188 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22189 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22193 (message (horizontal 1.0
22194 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22196 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22201 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22202 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22203 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22208 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22209 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22210 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22211 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22212 (name . "Message"))
22213 (message 1.0 point))))
22216 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22217 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22218 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22219 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22220 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22223 (gnus-add-configuration
22224 '(article (vertical 1.0
22226 (summary .25 point)
22230 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22231 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22232 Gnus has been loaded.
22234 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22235 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22236 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22237 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22238 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22240 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22241 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22242 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22245 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22249 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22250 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22265 (gnus-add-configuration
22268 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22270 (summary 0.16 point)
22273 (gnus-add-configuration
22276 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22277 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22283 @node Faces and Fonts
22284 @section Faces and Fonts
22289 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22290 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22291 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22296 @section Compilation
22297 @cindex compilation
22298 @cindex byte-compilation
22300 @findex gnus-compile
22302 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22303 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22304 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22305 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22306 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22307 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22310 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22311 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22312 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22313 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22314 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22315 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22316 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22320 @section Mode Lines
22323 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22324 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22325 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22326 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22327 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22328 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22329 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22332 @cindex display-time
22334 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22335 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22336 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22337 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22338 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22339 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22340 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22341 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22344 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22346 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22347 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22349 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22350 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22351 (length display-time-string)))))
22354 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22355 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22356 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22357 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22358 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22361 @node Highlighting and Menus
22362 @section Highlighting and Menus
22364 @cindex highlighting
22367 @vindex gnus-visual
22368 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22369 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22370 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22373 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22374 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22377 @item group-highlight
22378 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22379 @item summary-highlight
22380 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22381 @item article-highlight
22382 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22384 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22386 Create menus in the group buffer.
22388 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22390 Create menus in the article buffer.
22392 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22394 Create menus in the server buffer.
22396 Create menus in the score buffers.
22398 Create menus in all buffers.
22401 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22402 buffers, you could say something like:
22405 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22408 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22411 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22414 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22415 in all Gnus buffers.
22417 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22420 @item gnus-mouse-face
22421 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22422 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22423 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22427 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22431 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22432 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22433 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22435 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22436 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22437 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22439 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22440 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22441 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22443 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22444 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22445 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22447 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22448 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22449 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22451 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22452 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22453 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22464 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22465 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22466 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22467 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22468 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22472 @vindex gnus-carpal
22473 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22474 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22475 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22480 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22481 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22482 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22484 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22485 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22486 Face used on buttons.
22488 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22489 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22490 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22492 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22493 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22494 Buttons in the group buffer.
22496 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22497 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22498 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22500 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22501 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22502 Buttons in the server buffer.
22504 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22505 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22506 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22509 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22510 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22511 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22519 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22520 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22521 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22522 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22523 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22525 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22526 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22527 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22529 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22530 been idle for thirty minutes:
22533 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22536 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22540 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22543 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22544 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22545 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22547 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22548 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22549 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22550 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22552 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22553 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22554 @var{idle} minutes.
22556 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22557 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22560 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22561 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22562 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22564 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22565 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22566 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22567 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22569 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22570 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22572 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22574 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22577 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
22578 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22579 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22580 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22581 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22582 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22583 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22584 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22585 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22586 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22587 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22589 @findex gnus-demon-init
22590 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22591 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22592 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22593 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22594 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22596 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22597 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22598 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22607 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
22608 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
22610 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
22611 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
22612 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
22613 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
22616 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
22617 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
22618 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
22619 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
22621 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
22622 this will make spam disappear.
22624 There are some variables to customize, of course:
22627 @item gnus-use-nocem
22628 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
22629 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
22632 You can also set this variable to a positive number as a group level.
22633 In that case, Gnus scans NoCeM messages when checking new news if this
22634 value is not exceeding a group level that you specify as the prefix
22635 argument to some commands, e.g. @code{gnus},
22636 @code{gnus-group-get-new-news}, etc. Otherwise, Gnus does not scan
22637 NoCeM messages if you specify a group level to those commands. For
22638 example, if you use 1 or 2 on the mail groups and the levels on the news
22639 groups remain the default, 3 is the best choice.
22641 @item gnus-nocem-groups
22642 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
22643 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
22646 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
22647 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
22650 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
22651 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
22652 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
22653 people you want to listen to. The default is
22655 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
22656 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
22658 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
22660 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
22661 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
22663 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
22664 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
22665 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
22666 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
22667 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
22668 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
22669 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
22670 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
22671 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
22672 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
22674 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
22675 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
22678 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
22681 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
22682 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
22685 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
22688 The specs are applied left-to-right.
22691 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
22692 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
22694 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
22695 says she is. The default is @code{pgg-verify}, which returns
22696 non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful, otherwise (including
22697 the case the NoCeM message was not signed) returns @code{nil}. If this
22698 is too slow and you don't care for verification (which may be dangerous),
22699 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
22701 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
22702 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into
22703 @code{pgg-verify} running with GnuPG if you are willing to add the
22704 @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
22706 @item gnus-nocem-directory
22707 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
22708 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
22709 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
22711 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22712 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22713 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
22714 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
22715 might then see old spam.
22717 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
22718 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
22719 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
22720 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
22721 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
22724 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22725 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22726 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
22727 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
22731 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
22732 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
22733 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
22734 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
22741 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22742 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22743 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22745 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22746 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22747 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22748 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22749 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22750 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22751 @code{undo} function.
22753 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22754 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22755 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22756 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22757 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22758 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22759 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22760 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22761 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22762 never be totally undoable.
22764 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22765 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22767 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22768 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22769 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22770 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22774 @node Predicate Specifiers
22775 @section Predicate Specifiers
22776 @cindex predicate specifiers
22778 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22779 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22780 to type all that much.
22782 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22787 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
22788 gnus-article-unread-p)
22791 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
22792 functions all take one parameter.
22794 @findex gnus-make-predicate
22795 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
22796 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
22797 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
22802 @section Moderation
22805 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
22806 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
22807 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
22810 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
22814 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
22817 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
22819 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
22824 You split your incoming mail by matching on
22825 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
22826 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
22829 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
22830 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
22833 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
22834 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
22838 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
22841 (setq gnus-moderated-list
22842 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
22846 @node Fetching a Group
22847 @section Fetching a Group
22848 @cindex fetching a group
22850 @findex gnus-fetch-group
22851 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
22852 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
22853 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
22854 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
22855 It takes the group name as a parameter.
22858 @node Image Enhancements
22859 @section Image Enhancements
22861 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
22862 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
22863 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
22866 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
22867 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
22868 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
22869 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
22870 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
22878 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
22879 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
22880 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
22884 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
22885 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
22886 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
22894 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
22895 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
22896 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
22897 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
22898 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
22899 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
22900 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
22901 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
22902 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
22903 @code{display} program.
22905 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
22906 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
22907 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
22908 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
22909 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
22910 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
22911 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
22912 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
22914 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
22915 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
22916 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
22917 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
22918 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
22919 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
22921 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
22929 @vindex gnus-x-face
22930 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
22931 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
22932 default colors are black and white.
22934 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
22935 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
22936 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
22937 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
22938 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
22939 XEmacs. Here are examples:
22942 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
22943 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22944 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
22945 (png . (:ascent 80))))
22947 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
22948 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
22949 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
22950 (png . (:relief -2))))
22953 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
22954 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
22955 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
22956 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
22957 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
22958 @samp{libcompface} library.
22961 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
22962 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
22963 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
22964 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
22965 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
22966 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
22968 @findex gnus-random-x-face
22969 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
22970 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
22971 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
22972 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
22973 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
22974 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
22975 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
22976 header data as a string.
22978 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
22979 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
22980 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
22981 randomly generated data.
22983 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
22984 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
22985 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
22986 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
22987 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
22989 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
22990 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22993 (setq message-required-news-headers
22994 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22995 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
22998 Using the last function would be something like this:
23001 (setq message-required-news-headers
23002 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23003 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23004 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23005 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23013 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23015 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23016 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23017 represent the author of the message.
23020 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23021 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23022 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23025 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23026 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23028 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23031 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23033 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23035 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23036 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23038 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23039 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23040 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23042 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23043 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23044 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23045 converts the file to Face format by using the
23046 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23048 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23049 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23052 (setq message-required-news-headers
23053 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23054 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23055 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23060 @subsection Smileys
23065 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23070 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23071 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23073 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23074 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23077 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23080 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23081 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23082 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23083 text and maps that to file names.
23085 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23086 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23087 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23088 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23089 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23092 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
23097 @item smiley-data-directory
23098 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23099 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
23101 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23102 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23103 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23117 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23118 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23119 over your shoulder as you read news.
23121 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23130 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23131 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23132 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23133 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23134 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23135 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23136 @code{GIF} formats.
23139 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23140 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23141 point your Web browser at
23142 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23144 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23145 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23147 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23148 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23151 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23152 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23153 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23154 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23156 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23160 @item gnus-picon-databases
23161 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23162 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23163 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23164 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23165 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23167 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23168 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23169 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23170 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23172 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23173 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23174 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23175 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23177 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23178 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23179 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23180 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23181 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23183 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23184 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23185 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23186 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23192 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23195 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23196 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23197 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23198 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23199 unusual directory structure.
23201 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23202 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23203 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23208 @subsubsection Toolbar
23212 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23213 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23214 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23215 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23216 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23217 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23218 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23219 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23221 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23222 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23223 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23224 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23225 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23226 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23228 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23229 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23230 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23232 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23233 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23234 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23236 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23237 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23238 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23249 @node Fuzzy Matching
23250 @section Fuzzy Matching
23251 @cindex fuzzy matching
23253 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23254 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23256 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23257 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23258 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23260 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23261 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23262 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23263 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23264 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23267 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23268 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23272 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23274 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23275 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23276 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23277 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23278 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23279 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23280 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23281 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23284 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23285 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23286 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23287 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23288 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23289 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23291 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23294 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23295 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23296 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23297 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23300 @node The problem of spam
23301 @subsection The problem of spam
23303 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23304 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23306 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23308 First, some background on spam.
23310 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23311 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23312 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23313 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23314 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23315 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23316 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23317 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23318 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23320 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23321 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23322 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23323 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23324 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23325 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23326 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23327 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23328 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23331 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23332 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23333 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23334 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23335 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23336 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23337 from Bulgarian IPs.
23339 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23340 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23341 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23342 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23344 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23345 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23346 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23347 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23349 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23350 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23351 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23352 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23353 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23354 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23355 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23356 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23357 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23359 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23360 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23361 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23362 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23363 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23364 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23365 down for some time because of the incident.
23367 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23368 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23369 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23370 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23371 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23372 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23373 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23374 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23375 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23376 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23377 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23379 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23380 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23381 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23382 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23383 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23384 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23385 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23388 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23389 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23393 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23395 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23396 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23398 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23399 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23400 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23401 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23402 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23403 part of the mail address.)
23406 (setq message-default-news-headers
23407 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23410 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23411 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23415 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23416 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23417 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23422 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23423 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23424 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23425 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23427 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23428 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23429 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23430 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23431 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23432 your fancy split rule in this way:
23437 (to "larsi" "misc")
23441 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23442 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23443 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23444 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23445 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23447 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23448 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23449 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23450 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23452 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23456 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23457 @cindex SpamAssassin
23458 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23461 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23462 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23463 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23464 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23465 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23466 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23467 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23469 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23470 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23471 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23474 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23475 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23476 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23477 Specifiers}) follow.
23481 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23485 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23488 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23489 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23490 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23493 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23497 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23500 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23501 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23505 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23506 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23507 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23508 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23511 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23513 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23517 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23518 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23522 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23523 downloaded by default. You need to set
23524 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23525 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
23527 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23528 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23529 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23532 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23533 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23535 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
23536 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
23537 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23541 @subsection Hashcash
23544 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23545 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23546 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23547 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23548 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23550 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23551 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23552 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23553 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23554 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23555 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23556 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23557 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23558 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23559 one of them separately.
23562 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23563 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23564 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23565 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23566 need to install to use this feature, see
23567 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23568 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23570 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23571 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23572 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23575 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23578 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23582 @item hashcash-default-payment
23583 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23584 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23585 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23588 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23589 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23590 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23591 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23592 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23593 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23594 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23595 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23596 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23598 @item hashcash-path
23599 @vindex hashcash-path
23600 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23601 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23602 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23603 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23604 when you generate hashcash payments.
23608 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23609 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23610 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23611 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23612 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23613 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23614 Hashcash Payments}).
23617 @section Spam Package
23618 @cindex spam filtering
23621 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
23622 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
23623 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
23624 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
23627 * Spam Package Introduction::
23628 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
23629 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
23630 * Spam and Ham Processors::
23631 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
23633 * Extending the Spam package::
23634 * Spam Statistics Package::
23637 @node Spam Package Introduction
23638 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
23639 @cindex spam filtering
23640 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23643 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
23644 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23646 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23647 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
23649 @cindex spam-initialize
23650 @vindex spam-use-stat
23651 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
23652 @code{spam-initialize}:
23658 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
23659 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
23660 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
23661 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
23662 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
23664 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
23665 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
23667 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
23668 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
23670 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
23671 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
23672 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
23673 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
23674 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
23676 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
23677 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
23678 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
23679 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
23680 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
23683 @cindex spam back ends
23684 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
23685 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
23686 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
23687 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
23688 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23690 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
23691 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
23693 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
23694 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
23695 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
23696 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
23697 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
23698 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
23699 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
23701 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
23702 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
23703 point, the Spam package does several things:
23705 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
23706 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
23707 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
23708 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
23709 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
23710 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
23711 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
23712 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
23715 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
23716 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
23726 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23727 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23728 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
23729 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
23733 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
23734 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
23736 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
23737 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
23738 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
23739 to be processed as ham by setting
23740 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23741 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
23743 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23744 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23745 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
23746 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
23747 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
23748 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
23749 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
23750 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
23751 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
23752 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
23753 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
23754 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
23756 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
23757 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
23758 want each article to be processed only once, load the
23759 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
23760 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
23761 Configuration Examples}.
23763 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
23764 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
23765 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
23766 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
23768 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
23769 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23771 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23772 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23773 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23775 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
23776 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
23777 @cindex spam filtering
23778 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23781 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
23782 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
23783 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
23784 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23785 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
23791 @vindex spam-split-group
23793 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
23794 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
23795 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
23796 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
23797 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
23798 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
23799 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
23800 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
23801 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
23803 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
23805 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
23806 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
23807 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
23808 you should also set set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body}
23809 to @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can
23810 ``scan'' the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only
23811 retrieves the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells
23812 it to retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by
23813 default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
23814 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Splitting
23817 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
23818 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
23819 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
23820 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
23821 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
23822 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
23823 ends, and the following split rule:
23826 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23827 (any "ding" "ding")
23829 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23834 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
23835 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
23836 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
23837 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
23838 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
23839 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
23841 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
23842 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
23843 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
23844 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
23849 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
23850 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23851 (any "ding" "ding")
23852 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
23854 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23859 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
23860 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
23861 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
23862 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
23863 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
23864 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
23865 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
23867 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23868 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23869 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23870 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23872 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
23873 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
23876 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
23877 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
23879 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
23880 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
23881 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
23882 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23884 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
23885 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
23886 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
23887 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
23889 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
23890 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
23891 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
23893 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
23894 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
23895 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
23896 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
23897 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
23898 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
23899 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
23901 @node Spam and Ham Processors
23902 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
23903 @cindex spam filtering
23904 @cindex spam filtering variables
23905 @cindex spam variables
23908 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
23909 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
23910 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
23911 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
23912 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
23913 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
23914 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
23916 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
23917 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
23918 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
23919 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
23921 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23922 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
23923 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
23924 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
23925 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
23926 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
23927 by customizing the corresponding variable
23928 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
23929 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
23930 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
23931 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
23932 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
23933 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
23934 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
23937 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
23939 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
23940 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
23941 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
23942 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
23943 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
23944 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
23945 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
23946 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
23947 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
23948 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
23949 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
23950 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
23951 processor which will study them as spam samples.
23953 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
23954 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
23955 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
23956 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
23957 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
23958 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
23959 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
23960 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
23963 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23964 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
23965 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
23966 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
23967 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
23968 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
23969 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
23974 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
23975 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
23976 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
23977 you really want to.
23980 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
23981 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
23982 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
23983 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
23984 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
23985 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
23988 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23989 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
23990 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
23991 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
23992 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
23993 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
23994 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
23995 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
23996 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
23997 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
23998 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
23999 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24000 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24001 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24002 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24004 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24005 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24007 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24008 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24009 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24011 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24012 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24014 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24015 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24016 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24017 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24018 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24020 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24021 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24022 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24023 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24024 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24027 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24028 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24029 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24030 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24031 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24032 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24033 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24034 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24035 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24036 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24037 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24038 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24039 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24041 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24042 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24044 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24045 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24048 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24049 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24050 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24051 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24052 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24053 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24054 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24056 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24057 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24058 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24059 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24061 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24062 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24063 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24064 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24065 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24066 from the mail server.
24068 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24069 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24070 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24071 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24073 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24074 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24075 @cindex spam filtering
24076 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24077 @cindex spam configuration examples
24080 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24082 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24084 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24085 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24086 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24090 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24092 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24093 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24094 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24095 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24096 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24097 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24098 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24099 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24100 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24101 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24102 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24103 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24104 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24105 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24106 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24107 (any "ding" "ding")
24108 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24110 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24113 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24115 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24116 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24117 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24118 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24120 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24122 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24123 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24124 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24125 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24126 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24128 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24129 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24131 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24133 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24134 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24136 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24137 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24138 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24140 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24142 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24143 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24145 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24146 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24147 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24149 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24150 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24151 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24152 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24154 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24155 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24156 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24160 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24161 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24163 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24164 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24165 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24166 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24167 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24168 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24169 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24170 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24171 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24173 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24174 does most of the job for me:
24177 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24178 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24179 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24180 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24181 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24182 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24183 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24188 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24190 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24191 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24192 bogofilter or DCC).
24194 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24195 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24196 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24197 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24198 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24199 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24200 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24202 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24203 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24204 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24205 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24206 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24207 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24209 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24211 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24212 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24213 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24214 @samp{training.spam}.
24217 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24219 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24221 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24222 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24223 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24227 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24230 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24231 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24232 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24233 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24234 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24236 @node Spam Back Ends
24237 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24238 @cindex spam back ends
24240 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24241 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24242 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24243 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24247 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24248 * BBDB Whitelists::
24249 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24250 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24252 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24254 * SpamAssassin back end::
24255 * ifile spam filtering::
24256 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24260 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24261 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24262 @cindex spam filtering
24263 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24264 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24267 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24269 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24270 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24271 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24272 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24277 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24279 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24280 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24281 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24282 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24283 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24287 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24289 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24290 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24291 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24295 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24297 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24298 customizing the group parameters or the
24299 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24300 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24301 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24305 Instead of the obsolete
24306 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24307 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24308 the same way, we promise.
24312 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24314 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24315 customizing the group parameters or the
24316 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24317 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24318 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24323 Instead of the obsolete
24324 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24325 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24326 the same way, we promise.
24330 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24331 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24332 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24333 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24334 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24336 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24337 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24338 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24339 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24341 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24342 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24343 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24344 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24345 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24346 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24348 @node BBDB Whitelists
24349 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24350 @cindex spam filtering
24351 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24352 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24355 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24357 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24358 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24359 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24360 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24361 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24362 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24363 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24367 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24369 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24370 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24371 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24372 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24373 classified as spammers.
24375 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24376 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24377 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24378 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24383 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24385 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24386 customizing the group parameters or the
24387 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24388 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24389 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24394 Instead of the obsolete
24395 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24396 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24397 the same way, we promise.
24401 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24402 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24403 @cindex spam reporting
24404 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24405 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24408 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24410 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24411 customizing the group parameters or the
24412 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24413 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24414 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24417 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24421 Instead of the obsolete
24422 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24423 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24424 same way, we promise.
24428 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24430 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24431 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24432 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24433 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24434 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24438 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24440 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24441 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24442 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24446 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24447 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24448 @cindex spam filtering
24449 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24452 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24454 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24455 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24456 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24457 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24458 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24459 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24464 @subsubsection Blackholes
24465 @cindex spam filtering
24466 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24469 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24471 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24472 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24473 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24474 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24475 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24476 contains outdated servers.
24478 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24479 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24480 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24481 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24482 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24483 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24487 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24489 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24493 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24495 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24496 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24500 @defvar spam-use-dig
24502 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24503 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24507 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24508 ham processor for blackholes.
24510 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24511 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24512 @cindex spam filtering
24513 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24516 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24518 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24519 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24520 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24521 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24522 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24523 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24527 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24529 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24530 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24534 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24536 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24537 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24541 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24542 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24545 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24546 @cindex spam filtering
24547 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24550 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24552 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24555 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24556 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24557 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24558 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24559 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24560 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24562 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24563 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24566 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24567 processing will be turned off.
24569 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24578 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
24579 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
24582 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24584 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24585 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24586 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24587 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24588 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24589 installation documents for details.
24591 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24595 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24596 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24597 customizing the group parameters or the
24598 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24599 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24600 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24604 Instead of the obsolete
24605 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24606 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24607 the same way, we promise.
24610 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24611 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24612 customizing the group parameters or the
24613 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24614 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24615 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24616 of non-spam messages.
24620 Instead of the obsolete
24621 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24622 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24623 the same way, we promise.
24626 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24628 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24629 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24630 database directory.
24634 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24635 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24636 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24637 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24638 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24639 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24641 @node SpamAssassin back end
24642 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24643 @cindex spam filtering
24644 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24647 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24649 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24651 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24652 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24653 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24654 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24657 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24658 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24659 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24660 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24663 You should not enable this if you use
24664 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24668 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24670 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24671 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24673 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24677 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
24679 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24680 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24681 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24682 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24686 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24687 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24688 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24689 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24690 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24691 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24692 to test this functionality.
24694 @node ifile spam filtering
24695 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24696 @cindex spam filtering
24697 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24700 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24702 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24703 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24707 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24709 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24710 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24711 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24715 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24717 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24718 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24719 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24722 @defvar spam-ifile-database
24724 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24725 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24729 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24730 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24731 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24732 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24735 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
24736 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
24737 @cindex spam filtering
24738 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24742 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
24743 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
24744 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
24745 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
24746 spam-stat dictionary}.
24748 @defvar spam-use-stat
24752 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24753 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24754 customizing the group parameters or the
24755 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24756 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24757 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24761 Instead of the obsolete
24762 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24763 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24764 the same way, we promise.
24767 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24768 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24769 customizing the group parameters or the
24770 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24771 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24772 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24773 of non-spam messages.
24777 Instead of the obsolete
24778 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24779 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24780 the same way, we promise.
24783 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24784 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24785 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24786 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24787 @code{spam-split} are provided.
24790 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
24791 @cindex spam filtering
24795 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
24796 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
24797 installed separately.
24799 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
24800 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
24801 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
24802 mail as a spam mail or not.
24804 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
24805 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
24806 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
24808 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
24811 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
24812 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
24813 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
24814 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
24815 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
24816 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
24817 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
24818 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
24821 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
24822 spam-split-group "Junk"
24823 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
24824 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24825 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
24828 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
24829 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
24833 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
24834 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
24835 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
24839 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
24840 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
24841 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
24842 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
24843 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
24844 database to live somewhere special, set
24845 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
24848 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
24849 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
24850 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
24851 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
24852 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
24853 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
24854 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
24855 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
24856 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
24857 @xref{Spam Package}.
24859 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
24860 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24861 customizing the group parameter or the
24862 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24863 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
24864 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
24868 Instead of the obsolete
24869 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24870 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24871 the same way, we promise.
24874 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
24875 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24876 customizing the group parameter or the
24877 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
24878 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
24879 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
24884 Instead of the obsolete
24885 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
24886 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
24887 the same way, we promise.
24890 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
24891 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
24894 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
24895 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
24896 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
24898 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
24899 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
24900 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
24901 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
24902 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
24903 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
24905 @node Extending the Spam package
24906 @subsection Extending the Spam package
24907 @cindex spam filtering
24908 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
24909 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
24911 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
24912 incoming mail, provide the following:
24920 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
24921 "True if blackbox should be used.")
24924 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
24926 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
24927 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
24928 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
24929 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
24930 register/unregister spam and ham.
24935 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
24936 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
24937 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
24938 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
24943 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
24950 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
24951 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
24953 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
24954 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
24955 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
24956 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
24959 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
24960 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
24961 Only applicable to spam groups.")
24963 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
24964 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
24965 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
24974 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
24975 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
24977 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
24978 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
24979 variable customization.
24983 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
24985 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
24986 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
24988 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
24989 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
24995 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
24997 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
24998 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
24999 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25002 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25004 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25005 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25009 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25011 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25012 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25013 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25017 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25019 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25020 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25021 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25024 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25026 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25027 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25031 @code{spam-install-backend}
25033 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25034 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25035 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25038 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25040 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25041 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25042 never install such a back end.
25047 @node Spam Statistics Package
25048 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25049 @cindex Paul Graham
25050 @cindex Graham, Paul
25051 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25052 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25053 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25055 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25056 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25057 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25058 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25059 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25060 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25061 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25062 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25063 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25066 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25067 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25068 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25069 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25070 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25071 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25072 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25073 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25075 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25076 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25077 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25079 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25080 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25081 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25082 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25083 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25086 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25087 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25088 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25091 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25092 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25094 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25095 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25096 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25097 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25098 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25100 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25101 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25102 per mail. Use the following:
25104 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25105 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25106 is treated as one spam mail.
25109 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25110 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25111 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25114 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25115 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25116 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25117 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25118 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25119 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25121 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25122 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25123 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25124 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25125 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25128 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25129 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25130 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25131 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25134 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25135 reset the dictionary.
25137 @defun spam-stat-reset
25138 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25141 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25142 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25143 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25144 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25145 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25146 only non-spam mails.
25148 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25149 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25150 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25153 @defun spam-stat-save
25154 Save the dictionary.
25157 @defvar spam-stat-file
25158 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25159 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25162 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25163 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25165 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25166 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25168 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25171 (require 'spam-stat)
25175 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25178 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25179 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25180 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25181 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25183 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25184 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25185 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25186 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25189 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25190 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25194 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25195 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25198 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25199 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25200 expression are considered potential spam.
25203 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25204 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25205 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25209 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25210 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25211 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25212 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25213 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25216 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25217 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25218 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25222 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25223 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25224 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25225 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25226 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25230 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25231 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25232 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25233 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25238 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25239 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25241 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25243 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25244 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25245 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25248 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25249 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25250 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25253 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25254 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25255 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25256 already been processed as non-spam.
25259 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25260 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25261 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25262 been processed as spam.
25265 @defun spam-stat-save
25266 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25267 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25270 @defun spam-stat-load
25271 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25272 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25275 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25276 Return the spam score for a word.
25279 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25280 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25283 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25284 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25285 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25288 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25289 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25292 (require 'spam-stat)
25296 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25299 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25300 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25301 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25302 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25303 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25304 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25305 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25306 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25307 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25308 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25309 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25310 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25311 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25312 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25315 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25318 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25319 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25320 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25321 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25322 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25323 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25327 @section Interaction with other modes
25332 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
25333 buffers. It is enabled with
25335 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25340 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25341 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
25342 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25343 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25346 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25347 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25348 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25352 @findex gnus-dired-print
25353 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25354 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25357 @node Various Various
25358 @section Various Various
25364 @item gnus-home-directory
25365 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25366 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25367 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25369 @item gnus-directory
25370 @vindex gnus-directory
25371 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25372 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25373 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25375 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
25376 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25377 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25378 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25380 @item gnus-default-directory
25381 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25382 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25383 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25384 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25385 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25386 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25387 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25390 @vindex gnus-verbose
25391 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25392 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25393 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25394 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25395 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25397 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25398 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25399 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25400 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25402 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25403 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25404 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25405 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25406 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25407 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25408 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25409 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25410 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25411 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25413 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25414 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25415 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25416 read when doing the operation described above.
25418 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25419 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25421 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25422 @cindex characters in file names
25423 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25424 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25425 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25429 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25434 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25435 Windows (phooey) systems.
25437 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25438 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25439 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25440 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25441 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25443 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25444 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25445 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25446 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25447 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25449 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25450 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25451 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25453 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25454 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25456 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25457 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25458 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25459 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25462 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25470 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25471 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25473 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25475 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25481 Not because of victories @*
25484 but for the common sunshine,@*
25486 the largess of the spring.
25490 but for the day's work done@*
25491 as well as I was able;@*
25492 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25493 but at the common table.@*
25498 @chapter Appendices
25501 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25502 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25503 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25504 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25505 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25506 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25507 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25508 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25509 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25516 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25518 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25519 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25520 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25521 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25522 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25523 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25530 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25531 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25533 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25534 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25535 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25536 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25537 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25539 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25540 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25541 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25542 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25543 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25544 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25546 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25547 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25548 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25549 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25552 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25553 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25554 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25555 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25556 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25557 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25558 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25559 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25560 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25564 @node Gnus Versions
25565 @subsection Gnus Versions
25567 @cindex September Gnus
25569 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25570 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25573 @cindex Gnus versions
25575 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25576 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25577 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25579 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25580 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25582 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25583 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25585 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25586 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25588 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25589 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25592 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25593 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25595 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25597 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25598 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25599 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25600 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25601 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25602 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25605 @node Other Gnus Versions
25606 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25609 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25610 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25611 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25612 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25614 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25615 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25616 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25617 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25624 What's the point of Gnus?
25626 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25627 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25628 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25629 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25630 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25631 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25632 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25633 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25634 keep track of millions of people who post?
25636 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25637 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25638 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25639 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25640 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25641 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25642 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25643 every one of you to explore and invent.
25645 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25646 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25649 @node Compatibility
25650 @subsection Compatibility
25652 @cindex compatibility
25653 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25654 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25655 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25660 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25664 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25667 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25670 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25671 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25672 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25673 important variables have their values copied into their global
25674 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25675 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25677 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25678 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25679 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25680 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25681 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25685 @cindex highlighting
25686 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25687 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25688 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25689 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25690 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25691 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25694 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25695 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25696 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25697 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25699 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25700 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25701 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25702 to stop doing it the old way.
25704 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25706 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25708 @cindex reporting bugs
25710 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25711 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25712 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25714 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25715 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25716 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25717 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25722 @subsection Conformity
25724 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25725 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25733 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25737 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
25739 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
25740 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
25741 We do have some breaches to this one.
25747 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
25748 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
25749 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
25750 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
25751 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
25756 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
25757 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
25758 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
25759 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
25761 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
25762 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
25763 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
25765 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
25766 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
25768 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
25771 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
25772 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
25773 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
25774 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
25775 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
25778 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
25779 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
25780 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
25781 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
25783 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
25784 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
25786 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
25787 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
25788 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
25789 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
25790 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
25791 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
25792 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
25793 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
25797 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
25798 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
25803 @subsection Emacsen
25809 Gnus should work on:
25817 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
25821 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
25822 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
25823 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
25824 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
25826 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
25827 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
25828 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
25832 @node Gnus Development
25833 @subsection Gnus Development
25835 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
25836 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
25837 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
25838 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
25839 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
25840 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
25841 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
25842 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
25844 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
25845 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
25846 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
25847 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
25848 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
25851 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
25852 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
25853 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
25854 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
25855 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
25857 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
25858 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
25859 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
25860 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
25861 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
25862 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
25863 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
25864 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
25865 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
25866 can't be assumed to do so.
25871 @subsection Contributors
25872 @cindex contributors
25874 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
25875 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
25876 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
25877 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
25878 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
25879 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
25880 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
25881 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
25882 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
25883 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
25885 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
25891 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
25894 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
25895 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
25896 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
25897 functionality and stuff.
25900 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
25901 well as numerous other things).
25904 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
25907 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
25910 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
25913 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
25916 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
25917 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
25920 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
25923 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
25926 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
25929 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
25932 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
25935 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
25938 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
25939 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
25942 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
25945 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
25948 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
25951 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
25955 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
25958 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
25961 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
25964 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
25965 well as autoconf support.
25969 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
25970 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
25972 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
25987 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
25989 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
25993 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26003 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26018 Massimo Campostrini,
26023 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26024 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26028 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26031 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26037 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26042 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26046 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26054 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26056 Michelangelo Grigni,
26060 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26062 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26064 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26071 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26072 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26073 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26075 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26085 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26086 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26088 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26089 Thor Kristoffersen,
26092 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26110 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26111 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26118 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26123 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26127 John McClary Prevost,
26133 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26138 Christian von Roques,
26141 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26148 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26150 Randal L. Schwartz,
26164 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26169 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26189 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26190 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26191 (550kB and counting).
26193 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26196 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26197 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26201 @subsection New Features
26202 @cindex new features
26205 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26206 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26207 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26208 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26209 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26210 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26211 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26214 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26215 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26216 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26219 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26221 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26226 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26227 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26230 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26231 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26234 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26237 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26238 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26239 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26242 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26243 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26244 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26245 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26248 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26249 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26252 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26253 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26254 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26257 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26258 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
26261 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
26262 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
26263 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26266 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
26267 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
26268 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
26271 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
26272 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
26275 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
26276 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
26279 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
26280 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
26283 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
26284 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26287 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
26288 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
26291 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
26292 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26295 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
26298 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
26299 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
26302 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
26303 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
26306 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
26307 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26310 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26313 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26314 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26317 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26321 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26325 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26326 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26329 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
26335 @node September Gnus
26336 @subsubsection September Gnus
26340 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26344 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26349 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26350 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26354 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26355 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26359 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26363 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26364 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26367 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26371 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26374 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26377 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26380 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26384 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26385 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26388 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26392 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26396 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26400 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26404 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26407 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26408 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26411 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26415 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26416 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26419 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26422 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26423 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26424 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26427 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
26431 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26434 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26438 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26439 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26442 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26443 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26446 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26447 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26450 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26451 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26452 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26455 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26456 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26459 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26462 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26465 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26468 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26471 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26472 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26475 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26479 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26482 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26487 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
26490 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
26494 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26497 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26501 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26504 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26507 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26508 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26511 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26512 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26516 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26517 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26520 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26524 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26525 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26528 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26531 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26535 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26539 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26540 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26543 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26547 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26548 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26551 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26552 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26555 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26559 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26562 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26565 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26571 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26573 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26577 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26584 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26587 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26588 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26591 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26592 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26596 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26597 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26600 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26603 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26604 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26607 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26611 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26612 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26616 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26617 Server Internals}).
26620 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26624 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26627 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26628 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26631 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26632 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26633 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26636 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26637 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26640 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26641 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26644 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26648 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26649 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26652 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26653 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26656 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26660 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26663 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26667 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26668 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26671 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26672 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26675 A new command for reading collections of documents
26676 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26677 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26680 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26684 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26685 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26688 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26689 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26690 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26693 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26694 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26698 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26702 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26706 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26711 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26715 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26719 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26720 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26723 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26729 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26731 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26736 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26737 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26738 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26741 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26742 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26743 group, which is created automatically.
26746 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
26750 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
26753 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
26754 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
26757 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
26761 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
26764 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
26765 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
26768 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
26771 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
26775 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
26776 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
26779 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
26780 control over simplification.
26783 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
26786 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
26790 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
26793 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
26796 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
26797 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
26798 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
26801 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
26802 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
26805 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
26809 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
26810 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
26813 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
26814 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
26817 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
26821 A history of where mails have been split is available.
26824 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
26827 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
26828 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
26831 A new function for citing in Message has been
26832 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
26835 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
26838 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
26842 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
26843 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
26846 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
26847 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
26850 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
26853 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
26857 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
26858 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
26860 New features in Gnus 5.8:
26865 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
26866 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
26868 If you used procmail like in
26871 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
26872 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
26873 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
26874 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
26877 this now has changed to
26881 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
26885 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
26888 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
26889 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
26892 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
26893 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
26896 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
26897 called to position point.
26900 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
26901 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
26904 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
26905 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
26908 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
26909 subtly different manner.
26912 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
26913 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
26914 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
26917 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
26922 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
26925 New features in Gnus 5.10:
26929 @item Installation changes
26930 @c ***********************
26934 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
26936 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
26937 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
26938 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
26939 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
26940 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
26941 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
26942 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
26943 isn't save in general.
26946 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
26947 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
26948 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
26949 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
26950 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
26951 remove-installed-shadows}.
26954 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
26956 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
26957 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
26958 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
26959 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
26960 the second parameter.
26962 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
26963 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
26964 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
26965 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
26966 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
26967 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
26968 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
26969 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
26970 cycle used under Unix systems.
26972 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
26973 superfluous, so they have been removed.
26976 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
26978 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
26979 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
26982 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
26983 @c CVS. We should find a better place for this item.
26985 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
26987 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
26988 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
26989 lisp directory into load-path.
26991 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
26992 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
26996 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
26997 @c *****************************************
27002 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27003 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27006 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27008 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27009 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
27010 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
27011 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
27014 Improved anti-spam features.
27016 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27017 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27018 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27019 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27020 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27021 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27024 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27026 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27027 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27028 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27029 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27030 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27034 @item Changes in group mode
27035 @c ************************
27040 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27044 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27046 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27047 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27050 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27052 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27053 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27054 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27055 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27056 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27059 (setq gnus-parameters
27061 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27062 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27063 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27064 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27068 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27070 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27071 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27072 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27073 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27074 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27075 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27076 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27077 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27078 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27081 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27083 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27084 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27085 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27088 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27089 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27091 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27092 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27093 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27095 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27100 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27101 @c **************************************
27106 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27107 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27108 region if the region is active.
27111 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27112 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27117 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27118 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27119 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27120 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27123 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27128 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27129 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27131 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27132 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27136 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27137 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27140 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27143 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27144 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27147 Warn about email replies to news
27149 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27150 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27154 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27155 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27159 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27160 opposed to old but unread messages).
27163 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27164 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27167 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27168 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27171 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27172 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27175 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27177 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27178 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27179 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27180 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27183 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27184 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27185 Outlook (Express) articles.
27188 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27190 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27191 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27192 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27193 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27195 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27196 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27197 message cited below.
27200 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27203 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27207 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27210 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27211 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27214 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27217 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27219 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27220 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27221 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27222 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27223 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27227 Deleting of attachments.
27229 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27230 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27231 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27232 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27233 that support editing.
27236 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27238 The default value is determined from the
27239 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27240 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27241 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27244 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27246 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27247 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27248 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27251 Extended format specs.
27253 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27254 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27255 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27256 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27257 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27258 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27261 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27262 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27264 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27265 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27266 out other articles.
27269 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27271 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27272 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27273 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27274 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27277 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27281 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
27282 @c ****************************************************
27289 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
27290 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
27291 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
27294 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
27295 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
27298 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
27299 Gcc articles as read.
27302 Externalizing of attachments
27304 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
27305 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
27306 local files as external parts.
27309 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
27310 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
27313 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
27315 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
27316 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
27317 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
27318 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
27319 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
27320 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
27321 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
27322 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
27323 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
27326 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
27328 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
27329 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
27330 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
27331 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
27332 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
27333 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
27336 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
27337 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
27341 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
27344 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
27346 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
27347 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
27348 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
27349 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
27350 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
27351 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
27352 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
27353 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
27354 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
27355 was inserted directly.
27358 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
27360 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
27361 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
27362 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
27363 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
27366 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
27368 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
27370 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
27371 'bbdb-complete-name)
27375 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27377 Add a new format of match like
27379 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27380 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27382 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27384 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27385 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27389 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27391 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27392 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27393 need add those two headers too.
27396 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27397 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27398 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27402 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27403 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27404 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
27405 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27406 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
27409 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27411 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27414 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27416 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27420 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27422 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27423 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27424 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27425 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27426 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27427 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27428 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27429 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27432 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27433 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27435 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27436 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27437 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27438 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27441 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27444 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27445 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27448 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
27451 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27452 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27453 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27454 invalidate the digital signature.
27457 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
27458 decompressed when activated.
27459 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
27462 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
27464 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
27465 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
27466 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
27467 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
27468 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
27471 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
27472 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
27473 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
27474 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11
27478 @item Changes in back ends
27479 @c ***********************
27483 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
27486 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
27489 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27491 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27494 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27496 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27497 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27498 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27499 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27500 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27501 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27502 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27503 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27504 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27505 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27506 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27516 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27517 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27520 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27521 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27522 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27523 message, Message Manual}).
27526 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
27527 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars. This is a new
27528 feature in Gnus 5.10.9. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
27530 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
27531 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
27532 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
27537 @item Miscellaneous changes
27538 @c ************************
27545 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
27546 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
27547 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
27548 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
27549 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
27550 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
27551 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
27552 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
27553 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
27554 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
27555 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
27556 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
27557 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
27558 is not needed any more.
27561 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27563 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27564 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27565 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27570 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
27571 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
27572 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
27576 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
27579 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
27581 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
27588 @subsubsection No Gnus
27591 New features in No Gnus:
27592 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27594 @include gnus-news.texi
27600 @section The Manual
27604 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27605 either @code{texi2dvi}
27607 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27608 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27610 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27612 The following conventions have been used:
27617 This is a @samp{string}
27620 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27623 This is a @file{file}
27626 This is a @code{symbol}
27630 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27634 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27637 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27640 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27643 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27644 ever get them confused.
27648 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27649 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27650 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27651 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27652 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27653 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27654 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27660 @node On Writing Manuals
27661 @section On Writing Manuals
27663 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27664 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27665 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27666 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27667 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27668 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
27671 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27672 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27673 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27676 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27677 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
27682 @section Terminology
27684 @cindex terminology
27689 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27690 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27691 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27692 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27693 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27697 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27698 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27699 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27700 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27704 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27708 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27713 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27714 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27715 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27716 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27717 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27718 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27719 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27720 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27721 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27724 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27725 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27726 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27727 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27728 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27729 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27731 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27732 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27733 access the articles.
27735 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
27736 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
27737 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
27742 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
27743 default, way of getting news.
27747 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
27748 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
27753 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
27754 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
27758 A message that has been posted as news.
27761 @cindex mail message
27762 A message that has been mailed.
27766 A mail message or news article
27770 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
27775 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
27780 A line from the head of an article.
27784 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
27785 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
27787 @item @acronym{NOV}
27788 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
27789 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
27790 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
27791 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
27792 normal @sc{head} format.
27796 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
27797 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
27798 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
27799 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
27800 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
27801 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
27803 @item killed groups
27804 @cindex killed groups
27805 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
27806 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
27808 @item zombie groups
27809 @cindex zombie groups
27810 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
27813 @cindex active file
27814 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
27815 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
27816 is rather large, as you might surmise.
27819 @cindex bogus groups
27820 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
27821 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
27822 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
27825 @cindex activating groups
27826 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
27827 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
27828 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
27832 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
27833 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
27834 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
27838 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
27840 @item select method
27841 @cindex select method
27842 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
27845 @item virtual server
27846 @cindex virtual server
27847 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
27848 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
27849 whole is a virtual server.
27853 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
27854 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
27857 @item ephemeral groups
27858 @cindex ephemeral groups
27859 @cindex temporary groups
27860 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
27861 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
27862 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
27865 @cindex solid groups
27866 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
27867 group buffer are solid groups.
27869 @item sparse articles
27870 @cindex sparse articles
27871 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
27872 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
27876 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
27877 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
27881 @cindex thread root
27882 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
27883 articles in the thread.
27887 An article that has responses.
27891 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
27895 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
27896 specified by RFC 1153.
27899 @cindex splitting, terminology
27900 @cindex mail sorting
27901 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
27902 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
27903 incorrectly called mail filtering.
27909 @node Customization
27910 @section Customization
27911 @cindex general customization
27913 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
27914 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
27915 for some quite common situations.
27918 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
27919 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
27920 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
27921 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
27925 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
27926 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
27928 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
27929 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
27930 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
27934 @item gnus-read-active-file
27935 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
27936 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
27937 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
27938 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
27939 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
27941 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
27942 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
27943 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
27944 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
27948 @node Slow Terminal Connection
27949 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
27951 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
27952 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
27953 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
27957 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
27958 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
27959 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
27960 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
27961 horizontal and vertical recentering.
27963 @item gnus-visible-headers
27964 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
27965 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
27966 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
27967 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
27969 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
27971 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
27972 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
27973 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
27976 @item gnus-use-full-window
27977 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
27978 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
27979 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
27980 want to read them anyway.
27982 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
27983 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
27987 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
27988 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
27989 lines, which might save some time.
27993 @node Little Disk Space
27994 @subsection Little Disk Space
27997 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
27998 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28002 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28003 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28004 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28005 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28008 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28009 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28010 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28011 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28014 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28015 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28016 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28017 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28018 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28024 @subsection Slow Machine
28025 @cindex slow machine
28027 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28028 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28030 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28031 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28033 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28034 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28035 summary buffer faster.
28039 @node Troubleshooting
28040 @section Troubleshooting
28041 @cindex troubleshooting
28043 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28051 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28054 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28055 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28059 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28060 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.6} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
28061 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
28064 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28065 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28068 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28069 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28070 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28071 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28072 something like that.
28075 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28078 @cindex reporting bugs
28080 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28082 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28083 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28084 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28085 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28087 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28088 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28089 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28090 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28093 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28094 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28095 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28096 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28097 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28098 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28100 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28101 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28102 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28106 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28107 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28110 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28111 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28112 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28113 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28114 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28115 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28116 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28117 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28118 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28119 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28120 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28121 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28122 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28123 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28128 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28129 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28130 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28131 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28132 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28134 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28135 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28136 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28137 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28138 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28139 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28140 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28141 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28142 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28143 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28144 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28145 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28146 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28149 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28150 @cindex ding mailing list
28151 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28152 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28153 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28154 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28158 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28159 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28161 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28162 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28163 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28164 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28167 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28168 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28169 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28170 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28171 and general methods of operation.
28174 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28175 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28176 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28177 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28178 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28179 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28180 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28181 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28182 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28186 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28187 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28188 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28189 @cindex utility functions
28191 @cindex internal variables
28193 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28194 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28195 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28199 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28200 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28201 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28203 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28204 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28205 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28207 @item gnus-group-real-name
28208 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28209 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28212 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28213 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28214 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28215 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28217 @item gnus-get-info
28218 @findex gnus-get-info
28219 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28221 @item gnus-group-unread
28222 @findex gnus-group-unread
28223 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
28227 @findex gnus-active
28228 The active entry for @var{group}.
28230 @item gnus-set-active
28231 @findex gnus-set-active
28232 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
28234 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28235 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28236 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
28239 @item gnus-continuum-version
28240 @findex gnus-continuum-version
28241 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
28242 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
28245 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
28246 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
28247 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
28249 @item gnus-news-group-p
28250 @findex gnus-news-group-p
28251 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
28253 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28254 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28255 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
28257 @item gnus-server-to-method
28258 @findex gnus-server-to-method
28259 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
28261 @item gnus-server-equal
28262 @findex gnus-server-equal
28263 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
28265 @item gnus-group-native-p
28266 @findex gnus-group-native-p
28267 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
28269 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
28270 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
28271 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
28273 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
28274 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
28275 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
28277 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
28278 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
28279 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
28280 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
28282 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
28283 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
28284 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
28286 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
28287 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
28288 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
28290 @item gnus-check-backend-function
28291 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
28292 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
28293 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
28296 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
28300 @item gnus-read-method
28301 @findex gnus-read-method
28302 Prompts the user for a select method.
28307 @node Back End Interface
28308 @subsection Back End Interface
28310 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
28311 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
28312 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
28313 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
28314 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
28315 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
28317 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
28318 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
28319 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
28320 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
28321 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
28322 been opened, the function should fail.
28324 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
28325 name. Take this example:
28329 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
28330 (nntp-port-number 4324))
28333 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
28334 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
28336 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
28337 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
28338 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
28340 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
28341 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
28342 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
28344 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
28345 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
28346 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
28347 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
28348 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
28349 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
28352 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
28353 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
28354 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
28355 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
28358 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
28359 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
28360 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
28361 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
28362 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
28363 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
28364 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
28365 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
28366 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
28367 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
28369 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
28370 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
28371 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
28372 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
28373 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
28374 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
28375 of numbers as long as possible.
28377 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
28378 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
28379 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
28381 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
28384 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
28387 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
28388 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
28389 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
28390 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
28391 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
28392 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28396 @node Required Back End Functions
28397 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28401 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28403 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28404 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28405 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28406 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28408 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28409 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28410 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28411 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28413 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28414 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28415 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28416 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28417 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28418 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28419 number, do maximum fetches.
28421 Here's an example HEAD:
28424 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28425 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28426 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28427 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28428 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28429 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28430 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28432 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28433 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28434 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28438 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28439 these in the data buffer.
28441 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28445 head = error / valid-head
28446 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28447 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28448 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28449 header = <text> eol
28453 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28455 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28456 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28460 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28461 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28462 field = <text except TAB>
28465 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28469 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28471 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28472 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28474 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28475 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28476 server. In fact, it should do so.
28478 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28479 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28482 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28484 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28485 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28488 There should be no data returned.
28491 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28493 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28494 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28495 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28496 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28498 There should be no data returned.
28501 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28503 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28504 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28505 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28506 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28508 There should be no data returned.
28511 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28513 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28515 There should be no data returned.
28518 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28520 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28521 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28522 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28523 it would be nice if that were possible.
28525 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28526 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28527 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28528 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28529 into its article buffer.
28531 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28532 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28533 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28534 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28535 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28536 on successful article retrieval.
28539 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
28541 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28542 making @var{group} the current group.
28544 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28547 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28550 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28553 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28554 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28555 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28556 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28557 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28558 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28559 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28560 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28561 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28565 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28566 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28567 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28571 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28573 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28574 a no-op on most back ends.
28576 There should be no data returned.
28579 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28581 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28584 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28587 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28588 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28591 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28592 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28593 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28594 and the highest as 0.
28597 active-file = *active-line
28598 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28600 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28603 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28604 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28605 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28608 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28610 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28611 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28612 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28613 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28614 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28615 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28617 There should be no result data from this function.
28622 @node Optional Back End Functions
28623 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28627 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28629 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28630 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28631 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28633 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28634 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28635 former is in the same format as the data from
28636 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28637 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28640 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28644 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28646 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28647 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28648 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28649 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28650 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28651 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28652 the network resources).
28654 There should be no result data from this function.
28657 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28659 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28660 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28661 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28662 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28663 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28664 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28665 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28666 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28668 There should be no result data from this function.
28671 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28673 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28674 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28675 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28676 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28677 propagate the mark information to the server.
28679 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28682 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28685 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28686 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28687 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28688 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28689 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28690 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28691 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28692 possible, not limit itself to these.
28694 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
28695 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
28696 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
28697 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
28699 An example action list:
28702 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
28703 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
28704 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
28707 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
28708 mark on (currently not used for anything).
28710 There should be no result data from this function.
28712 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
28714 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
28715 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
28716 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
28717 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
28718 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
28720 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
28721 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
28722 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
28725 There should be no result data from this function.
28728 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
28730 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
28731 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
28732 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
28733 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
28734 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
28735 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
28736 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
28737 local if that's practical.
28739 There should be no result data from this function.
28742 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
28744 The result data from this function should be a description of
28748 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
28750 description = <text>
28753 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
28755 The result data from this function should be the description of all
28756 groups available on the server.
28759 description-buffer = *description-line
28763 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
28765 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
28766 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
28767 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
28768 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
28769 in the active buffer format.
28771 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
28772 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
28773 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
28774 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
28775 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
28776 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
28777 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
28780 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28782 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
28784 There should be no return data.
28787 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
28789 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
28790 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
28791 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
28792 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
28793 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
28796 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
28799 There should be no result data returned.
28802 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
28804 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
28805 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
28807 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
28808 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
28809 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
28810 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
28811 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
28812 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
28814 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
28815 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
28818 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28819 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28821 There should be no data returned.
28824 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
28826 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
28827 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
28828 this function in short order.
28830 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
28831 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
28833 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
28834 article for that group.
28836 There should be no data returned.
28839 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
28841 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
28842 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
28844 There should be no data returned.
28847 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
28849 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
28850 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
28851 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
28853 There should be no data returned.
28856 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
28858 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
28859 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
28861 There should be no data returned.
28866 @node Error Messaging
28867 @subsubsection Error Messaging
28869 @findex nnheader-report
28870 @findex nnheader-get-report
28871 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
28872 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
28873 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
28874 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
28875 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
28876 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
28879 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
28881 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
28884 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
28885 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
28886 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
28887 takes one argument---the server symbol.
28889 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
28890 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
28891 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
28894 @node Writing New Back Ends
28895 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
28897 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
28898 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
28899 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
28900 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
28901 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
28904 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
28905 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
28906 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
28908 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
28909 package called @code{nnoo}.
28911 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
28912 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
28918 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
28919 parameters. For instance:
28922 (nnoo-declare nndir
28926 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
28927 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
28930 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
28931 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
28932 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
28934 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
28935 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
28936 a function in those back ends.
28939 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
28940 "Where nndir will look for groups."
28941 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
28944 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
28945 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
28946 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
28948 @item nnoo-define-basics
28949 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
28953 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
28957 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
28958 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
28959 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
28961 @item nnoo-map-functions
28962 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
28963 functions from the parent back ends.
28966 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
28967 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
28968 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
28971 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
28972 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
28973 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
28974 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
28977 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
28978 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
28979 haven't already been defined.
28985 nnmh-request-newgroups)
28989 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
28990 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
28991 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
28996 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
28999 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29000 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29004 (require 'nnheader)
29008 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29010 (nnoo-declare nndir
29013 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29014 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29015 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29017 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29018 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29021 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29023 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29024 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29025 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29027 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29028 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29030 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29032 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29034 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29035 (setq nndir-directory
29036 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29038 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29039 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29040 (push `(nndir-current-group
29041 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29042 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29044 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29045 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29047 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29049 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29050 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29051 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29052 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29053 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29057 nnmh-status-message
29059 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29065 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29066 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29068 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29069 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29070 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29071 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29072 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29074 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29075 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29080 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29083 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29085 The abilities can be:
29089 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29091 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29093 This back end supports both mail and news.
29095 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29098 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29099 articles and groups.
29101 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29102 true for almost all back ends.
29103 @item prompt-address
29104 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29105 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29106 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29110 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29111 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29113 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29114 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29115 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29116 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29119 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29120 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29121 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29124 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29125 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29128 This function takes four parameters.
29132 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29135 @item exit-function
29136 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29138 @item temp-directory
29139 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29142 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29143 performed for one group only.
29146 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29147 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29148 find the article number assigned to this article.
29150 The function also uses the following variables:
29151 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29152 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29153 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29154 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29158 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29159 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29163 @node Score File Syntax
29164 @subsection Score File Syntax
29166 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29167 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29168 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29170 Here's a typical score file:
29174 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29181 BNF definition of a score file:
29184 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29185 element = rule / atom
29186 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29187 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29188 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29189 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29191 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29192 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29193 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29194 date-header = "date"
29195 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29196 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29197 score = "nil" / <integer>
29198 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29199 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29200 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29201 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29202 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29203 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29204 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29205 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29206 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29207 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29208 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29209 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29210 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29211 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29212 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29213 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29214 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29215 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29216 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29217 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29218 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29219 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29220 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29221 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29222 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29223 eval = "eval" space <form>
29224 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
29227 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
29230 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
29231 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
29232 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
29233 one looong line, then that's ok.
29235 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
29236 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
29240 @subsection Headers
29242 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
29243 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
29244 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
29245 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
29247 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
29248 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
29249 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
29250 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
29251 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
29252 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
29253 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
29255 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
29256 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
29257 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
29258 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
29259 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
29261 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
29262 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
29268 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
29269 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
29271 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
29272 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
29273 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
29274 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
29276 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
29280 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
29283 is transformed into
29286 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
29289 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
29290 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
29293 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
29296 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
29297 is slightly tricky:
29300 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
29306 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
29309 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
29315 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
29322 and is equal to the previous range.
29324 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
29325 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
29326 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
29330 range = simple-range / normal-range
29331 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
29332 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
29333 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
29334 number *[ " " contents ]
29337 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
29338 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
29339 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
29340 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
29341 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
29346 @subsection Group Info
29348 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
29349 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
29350 describes the group.
29352 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
29353 second is a more complex one:
29356 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
29358 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
29359 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
29361 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
29364 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
29365 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
29366 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
29367 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
29368 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
29369 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
29370 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
29371 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
29372 this section is about.
29374 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
29375 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
29376 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
29378 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
29381 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
29382 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
29383 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29384 group = quote <string> quote
29385 ralevel = rank / level
29386 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29387 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
29388 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29390 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
29391 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
29392 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
29393 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29396 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29397 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29400 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29401 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29404 @item gnus-info-group
29405 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29406 @findex gnus-info-group
29407 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29408 Get/set the group name.
29410 @item gnus-info-rank
29411 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29412 @findex gnus-info-rank
29413 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29414 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29416 @item gnus-info-level
29417 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29418 @findex gnus-info-level
29419 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29420 Get/set the group level.
29422 @item gnus-info-score
29423 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29424 @findex gnus-info-score
29425 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29426 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29428 @item gnus-info-read
29429 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29430 @findex gnus-info-read
29431 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29432 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29434 @item gnus-info-marks
29435 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29436 @findex gnus-info-marks
29437 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29438 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29440 @item gnus-info-method
29441 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29442 @findex gnus-info-method
29443 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29444 Get/set the group select method.
29446 @item gnus-info-params
29447 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29448 @findex gnus-info-params
29449 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29450 Get/set the group parameters.
29453 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29454 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29456 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29457 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29458 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29459 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29462 @node Extended Interactive
29463 @subsection Extended Interactive
29464 @cindex interactive
29465 @findex gnus-interactive
29467 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29468 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29469 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29472 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29473 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29478 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29479 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29480 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29481 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29482 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29483 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29484 @code{interactive}.
29486 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29491 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29492 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29496 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29497 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29498 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29501 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29505 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29509 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29515 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29516 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29520 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29521 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29522 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29524 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29525 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29526 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29527 Gnus, that's very useful.
29529 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29530 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29531 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29532 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29533 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29534 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29535 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29536 following function:
29539 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29543 (,function ,@@args))
29547 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29548 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29549 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29552 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29553 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29554 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29556 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29557 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29558 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29561 @node Various File Formats
29562 @subsection Various File Formats
29565 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29566 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29570 @node Active File Format
29571 @subsubsection Active File Format
29573 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29574 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29577 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29580 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29581 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29582 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29583 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29584 no.general 1000 900 y
29587 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29590 active = *group-line
29591 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29592 group = <non-white-space string>
29594 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29595 low-number = <positive integer>
29596 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29599 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29600 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29603 @node Newsgroups File Format
29604 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29606 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29607 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29608 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29611 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29612 Here's the definition:
29616 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29617 group = <non-white-space string>
29619 description = <string>
29624 @node Emacs for Heathens
29625 @section Emacs for Heathens
29627 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29628 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29629 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29630 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29631 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29632 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29633 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29637 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29638 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29643 @subsection Keystrokes
29647 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29650 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29653 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29654 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29655 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29656 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29657 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29658 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29660 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29661 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29662 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29663 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29664 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29665 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29666 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29668 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29669 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29670 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29671 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29672 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29673 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29674 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29676 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29677 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29678 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29679 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29680 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29686 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29688 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29689 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29690 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29691 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29693 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
29694 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
29695 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
29696 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
29697 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
29698 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
29699 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
29700 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
29701 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
29702 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
29704 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
29705 write the following:
29708 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
29711 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
29712 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
29713 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
29714 change how Gnus works.
29716 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
29717 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
29718 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
29719 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
29720 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
29722 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
29723 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
29724 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
29728 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
29732 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
29735 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
29736 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
29739 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
29742 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
29743 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
29746 @include gnus-faq.texi
29766 @c Local Variables:
29768 @c coding: iso-8859-1
29772 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819